In the 1998 romantic-comedy ‘You’ve Got Mail’, Joe Fox, the character played by Tom Hanks says,
“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”
This sums up the Starbucks story of product differentiation perfectly. From a store in Seattle in 1971 to over 21,160 stores in 63 countries and territories, Starbucks has revamped the coffee drinking culture. While Starbucks offers innumerable options ranging from Blonde Roast to Hazelnut Macchiato to Salted Caramel Mocha, it also offers the unique proposition of altering drinks according to the wishes of customers, no matter how detailed they are. Right from serving an espresso within 23 seconds of brewing to offering options of skim milk and both natural and artificial sweeteners, Starbucks adheres to stringent guidelines and provides high quality products. Read more..
