It’s just a cup of coffee, why is it so expensive in Starbucks?

Many people love to drink Starbucks, and its charm has spread all over the world. When talking about chain coffee shops in China, everyone will think of Starbucks first. However, every time the editor chats with colleagues who make coffee, they always show disgust when talking about Starbucks: "Starbucks tastes so bad and is so expensive, it's all based on commercial hype!", "It's not a coffee shop, just a coffee shop. It’s just a photo studio selling coffee~”, “Green coffee beans are so cheap, but coffee is sold so expensive. Isn’t Starbucks exploiting farmers?”… Today, the editor will discuss why Starbucks, which has such polarizing reviews, can become popular all over the world. , what’s so great about it?

How much does Starbucks invest in other than coffee?

Starbucks China rarely places commercial advertisements, but every small move it makes attracts media coverage. Perhaps it is the brand effect. Many people joke that "Starbucks doesn't need to advertise at all." However, Starbucks has actually invested a lot of budget in advertising and marketing. Although there is no overwhelming advertising, there are constant "small actions" underneath to let consumers know more about its brand and story. If you have time, you might as well go to a Starbucks store. Pay more attention to whether there is a Starbucks magazine next to the counter (I don’t know if all stores have it). This booklet is for customers to take at will. It has exquisite designs, brand stories, seasonal themes, and introduces Starbucks’ charity actions around the world. .

In addition, Starbucks is actually very particular about the equipment and decoration in the coffee shop! In order to increase employee efficiency and stabilize coffee quality, we spend a lot of money to purchase fully automatic coffee machines. Some stores even use MAHLKONIG VTA 6S commercial grinders (commonly known as the German Grinding King in our industry) as their grinders. This is a very professional choice.

If you observe Starbucks from other places, you will find that in order to provide perfect customer service, they also use very good mobile payment and membership systems, as well as higher-cost paper bags, cup sleeves, cup holders, and even desserts. Details such as the knives and forks used during meals can be seen that Starbucks is improving service satisfaction regardless of cost.

The most important thing is the education and training of employees. Starbucks’ technical functional system is very sound. When you order a drink at Starbucks, you will feel at home. This is a company that values ??customers and itself. image of the company. Or in other words, what you drink at Starbucks is not a cup of coffee, it’s a coffee shop.

But...why do baristas dislike the taste of Starbucks?

Come to the crux of the problem! Most people in the coffee industry actually "dislike" the taste of Starbucks. Sometimes "disdain Starbucks" actually becomes politically correct... How should I put it?

Personally, I think the taste of Starbucks can only be described as "very stable". Regardless of the production area or climatic factors, the flavor it provides will not be different throughout the year. Too many influences; Starbucks can fix the taste within a certain flavor range and let consumers become familiar with its taste. This is a business strategy that provides "certainty" (in fact, it is very similar to McDonald's). For large chain brands It couldn't be more appropriate.

However, it is this fixed formula and roasting method that has caused criticism and complaints from other baristas, because although the roasting method used by Starbucks and the bean types in the production area can make the drink slightly flavorful, Roasted flavor, but when the flavor is fixed, it tastes like a featureless caramel and charcoal flavor. This is actually a flavor that most coffee beans can present, and the taste is rounded. It can also be made easily.

So here comes the problem. At such a price, it only brings such a mediocre and fixed flavor, which will lead to disgust among coffee colleagues, because coffee with "better flavor" should be better. Expensive, why is the "mediocre flavor" coffee at Starbucks getting more and more expensive?

But when you realize this, please review what the editors said in the first paragraph. Don’t ignore Starbucks’ many cost investments, because just to achieve the challenge of “fixed flavor”, in the machine The cost of selecting and hiring experts is staggering; even if Starbucks uses standard recipe beans, it actually requires a group of experienced field experts to research. Don’t forget that what Starbucks wants to do is to be a chain coffee brand that is acceptable to the majority of the public, rather than a specialty store that is personalized and difficult to quality control. After all, opening 20,000 stores is a different level than opening 2 or 20 stores.

Whenever you drink Starbucks coffee, what you drink is not just the coffee, but also the entire store, cups, advertisements, and even the entire brand. Then you will know why a cup costs dozens. Blocked.

The corporate responsibility fulfilled by Starbucks

Finally, the editor actually wants to talk about this topic. Regarding Starbucks’ corporate responsibility and public welfare actions, although the editor has not been a Starbucks employee, I have The editor still appreciates Starbucks' conscientious corporate responsibilities, and even hopes that as a member of the coffee industry, he can one day fulfill these social responsibilities.

1. Environmental protection

Everyone is familiar with these two words. In life, from "not littering" to "garbage classification", you should be familiar with them, but for a company like Starbucks, It is said that environmental protection is a project that requires investing hundreds of times more time and money than ordinary households; from looking for more environmentally friendly recycled materials, protecting trees and the ecology of production areas, to using recyclable materials as packaging for goods and takeaway drinks. , and thinking about how to increase the proportion of customers bringing their own eco-friendly cups, this requires a long period of change and determination.

2. Procurement by coffee farmers and manufacturers

In recent years, whether it is Starbucks or other large companies, they have also paid attention to "let the life of the place of origin" be paid attention to when purchasing green coffee beans. The awareness of "better quality" and a better living standard are the biggest wishes of every farmer who grows coffee for a living; therefore, "transparency in transactions" and "fair prices" are concepts that Starbucks has been committed to promoting. In addition to improving the quality of its own products , it can also allow hard-working soybean farmers to get reasonable transaction prices, forming a win-win situation between supply and demand. This is a very important concept for social balance.

Conclusion

Most coffee consumers have mostly positive comments about Starbucks. After all, if you often run out, you need to find a job that has no meal time restrictions and has sockets where you can feel at ease. It’s hard not to choose Starbucks. This is also the brand concept that Starbucks has implemented for a long time: "Creating the third space between home and office"

You will find that Starbucks aims to create the environment to maximize your Maximize relaxation and sedentary time. If you often go to Starbucks, you can also carefully observe the conversations of the service staff. In fact, they are all designed, from cordial greetings, smooth ordering, product recommendations, retelling the customer's order, Draw a friendly smiley face on the cup. You really can't just think of Starbucks as a beverage store.

Many people must not have seen this, and they have already hurriedly scolded the editor for "helping Starbucks wash the floor" and "taking money from Starbucks"... Haha~ The editor does not intend to brag for Starbucks. What a rainbow fart, I just hope this brief discussion can give you a better understanding of the world's largest chain coffee brand. Many coffee colleagues often shout jokes such as "surpassing Starbucks" and "overthrowing Starbucks", but please ask yourself: Even if your coffee tastes better than Starbucks, is your service better than Starbucks? ? Even if your prices are higher than Starbucks and you sell more than Starbucks, can you do more to promote the coffee industry and help this society than Starbucks?

Coffee consumers in dozens of countries around the world voted with their feet to select the world's largest coffee shop chain brand. If you only saw the two points of "unpalatable" and "expensive", wouldn't it be wrong? "The frog in the well"?