Speciality Coffee And Tea Shops Emerging As The Next Reception Room
On a business perspective, the sprouting of the next wannabe corporate coffee name is just a step away from the office, the school, and the library. This means that over the years, specialty coffee and tea drinkers have multiplied by leaps and bounds. Many of these specialty coffee and tea drinkers go to specialty coffee and tea shops to unwind and chat with friends and colleagues.
How Specialty Coffee and Tea Shops are Affecting our Lives
Sprouting Specialty Coffee and Tea food service businesses have been growing all over serving on the go breakfast consumers to professionals who hold meetings out of the office setup. One thing is for sure, the culture of the modern world is evolving and is opening new doors and market niches for people who dream of having special places to drink, enjoy and experience a great serving of specialty coffee and tea. The specialty coffee and tea service retail industry though is somewhat saturated already by the big coffee and tea moguls that gobble up market shares by closely and strategically locating shops at corners and shopping malls.
There is still an open and untapped market of coffee drinkers that want only the best brews. Brews that come from freshly roasted and full flavoured specialty coffee and tea that is not commercially prepared. This is usually done by local coffee aficionados who have turned their passion of coffee into a social oriented business.
The Specialty Coffee and Tea Experience
People flock to specialty coffee and tea shops to enjoy the whole experience. Preparing good coffee is only half of it. A good percentage of the attraction for the specialty coffee and tea drinker segment is about the shop’s ambience. Since it has been perceived as an extension of the house or office’s receiving area, it must feel homey and comfortable. The chairs, tables, ambiance, lights and even the music can make or break your specialty coffee and tea shop. There is a trend for coffee shops nowadays to offer free wi-fi internet access for their business minded customers who want to keep themselves up to date on stock trades, etc. or for a traveling journalist who just wants to unwind and do his job outside the hotel room.
Specialty coffee and tea drinking is not just for getting a good kick in the morning, but an experience that is shared with friends, colleagues, and the environment.
Starbucks Coffee Company
Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 by three businessmen in Seattle, Washington who had a love for coffee and tea. It was important to them that the city of Seattle to have access their coffee.
The Starbucks Coffee Company grew slowly but by 1981 had 4 retail stores and a roasting plant that sold whole bean coffee in Seattle only.
By 1983 the marketing manager had a vision of re-creating the magic and romance behind the Italian coffee bar and wanted to test out the concept of selling espresso by the cup. When Starbucks Coffee opened its 6th store in downtown Seattle, the idea had become a hit. Within 2 months the new store was serving over 700 customers a day and it was selling 3 times more than the whole bean locations.
In 1987, the owners of Starbucks Coffee Company decided to sell their coffee business along with the name to a group of local investors for $3.7 million.
The new investors were told that they would open 125 Starbucks coffee stores in the next five years. Starting from a base of 17 stores in 1987, the company expanded rapidly to Vancouver, Portland and Chicago.
By 1991 Starbucks had expanded into the mail-order catalogue business, licensed airport stores and expanded further into the state of California.
In 1992 the company went public and after the initial public offering, Starbucks continued to grow at a phenomenal pace that no one had ever seen in the coffee world before. By 1997 the number of Starbucks Coffee stores grew tenfold, with locations in the US, Japan and Singapore.
Starbucks initiated several successful product and brand extensions including offering coffee on United Airlines flights. They also began selling premium teas through its Tazo Tea Company and offering people the option to purchase starbucks coffee online to enjoy at home.
They began distributing whole bean and ground coffee to supermarkets through an agreement with Kraft Foods. They also produced premium coffee ice cream with Dreyers. Starbucks even sold CDs in its retail stores.
Starbucks began turning its name into a household word not through advertising but through word of mouth. In fiscal 2004, Starbucks opened a record 1,344 stores worldwide. The once small regional roaster, Starbucks Coffee Company, now has more than 9,000 locations in 34 countries serving over 20 million customers a week.