Latte me to rest! Coffee-lover who died after battle with cancer is buried in Costa-themed coffin... with her order written on the side

Karen Lloyd, 51, died of cancer following a brave 8-month battle

Friends chose the unusual design to celebrate her love of the chain

Costa spokesman: 'Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time'

By JAMES WHITE and DAVID WILKES

PUBLISHED: 11:12 GMT, 17 February 2014 | UPDATED: 01:29 GMT, 18 February 2014

In life, Karen Lloyd enjoyed a coffee while shopping with friends. In fact, she liked it so much she was nicknamed ‘Costa Karen’.

So after the fun-loving mother of two died from cancer at 51, her family thought it only fitting that her funeral should feature a shot of something frothy too.

They commissioned a coffin in her favourite coffee shop Costa’s burgundy colour with the chain’s logo on the side.

The words ‘one shot, extra hot skinny latte’ – her drink of choice – were also written on one end of the wooden coffin.

Her husband Alan, 45, said yesterday: ‘The funeral was a celebration of her life and it’s good to do it on a humorous side.

‘When we asked the funeral directors for a Costa-themed coffin, they said, “We’ve never done one of those before”.

'But they managed to do one for us.’

It was made by Oxford firm Colourful Coffins and there were 450 mourners at the funeral in Swindon on Friday.

Mrs Lloyd was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and died on February 4, leaving behind her husband and sons Harry, 19, and Eddie, 15.

The coffin was carried into the church to the sound of 'More than a Woman' and, following the service, carried out to 'Viva Las Vegas'.

Lynzi Barrett, a close friend of Karen, said: 'She wanted a coffin with a difference and Alan, her husband, wondered what could be done regarding Costa.

'I telephoned Mark Hillier of Hillier Funeral Service and within an hour he called me back to say we could have it. It brought a smile to our faces at a time of sorrow. 

'Both the funeral and wake were based around her love of Costa coffee, shopping and sleeping. 

'We had pictures of her everywhere as she lit up every room she entered. 

'She was the most positive, kind person I have ever met, who loved her boys and most definitely made an impact on everyone she ever met.'

Karen, who worked for a blinds and shutters company before her illness, had her funeral at Christ Church in Old Town, Swindon, Wiltshire, last week. 

She was diagnosed with breast cancer last June following a mammogram. She didn't have a lump - instead she had an enlarged breast.

Despite her illness, she dedicated time to charity work, raising more than £2,000 for the Breast Cancer Unit at the Great Western Hospital.

Through the months of chemotherapy and invasive treatment, Karen kept a brave face and rarely allowed herself to shed any tears.

But tragically, the cancer spread to her spinal fluid and brain and, in December, she was given the devastating news the condition was terminal. 

Karen passed away at Prospect Hospice on February 4, leaving behind her two sons Harry, 19, and Eddie, 15, and husband Alan. 

Reverend Captain Clive Deverell paid tribute to the fun-loving mum during Friday's service. 

He said: 'She loved being with her friends and families and she had great friends. 

'She was a loving mum to her two sons Harry and Eddie. And of course there was Costa, shopping, Costa, shopping and I forgot to say, Costa and shopping.

'She really liked getting herself ready and was always immaculate. If they were going to go on holiday and wanted to arrive on time, Alan's trick was to set all the clocks in the house one hour early.

'Her humour and her fortitude were impressive. She is making the baristas in heaven's lives rather difficult with her one-shot extra hot skinny lattes.'

More than 450 people went to her funeral, with 300 attending the wake.

Lynzi added: 'It looked more like a wedding than a wake, she would have loved it.'

Karen Lloyd's husband said today her friends nicknamed her 'Costa Karen' - but he called her 'Costa Lot'.

Alan, who works on offshore wind farms, was 80 miles off the coast of Germany when found out that his wife of 20 years was seriously ill.

He said: 'She was first class, so friendly and happy, I couldn't have asked for a better wife. 

'She was nicknamed Costa Karen, although I called her Costa Lot. It's a very sad loss, we were married for 20 years. I am going to miss her like anything.

'The funeral was a celebration of her life and it is good to do it on a humourous side. 

'When we asked the funeral directors for a Costa Coffee-themed coffin, they said "you what? We've never done one of those before". But they managed to do one for us. 

'We went to Las Vegas for her 50th birthday and on one of the days we hired cars and went to the Grand Canyon. 

'She said it was one of the best days of her life and we said we would go back again one day. That's why she went out to Viva Las Vegas.'

A Costa spokesman said: 'Our thoughts are of course with the family at this difficult time. 

'Clearly she enjoyed her Costa coffee and her family felt it was an appropriate addition to their farewell to her.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561169/Making-mocha-ry-tradition-Coffee-lover-buried-Costa-themed-coffin.html#ixzz2yCB7L0H3
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转：一杯一念一世界

蓝屹

2012年，太平洋咖啡在中国内地开疆拓土，以超常规的发展速度迅速打开了局面，这凝聚着全体同仁的智慧和辛劳，也展示了我们的决心和实力。就当前中国咖啡市场整体的竞争格局和发展空间看，大家还是处于一个跑马圈地的时代。作为进入中国内地市场时间不长的太平洋咖啡，我们当前的任务是学习、追赶同行，以期共同将市场做大，服务更多的消费者。

作为20年前创建于香港的咖啡连锁品牌，太平洋咖啡进入内地之后，除了收获，也有一些不适应。首先是品牌定位与中国内地咖啡消费者的匹配性不够，其次是忙于开店而对后台能力建设的投入不够。

2013年，我们必须在反思的基础上着力解决品牌定位的适应性和差异性问题，品牌定位的适应性指我们的定位必须匹配中国内地咖啡消费者的消费需求，而差异性体现在我们与竞争对手区隔出来的独特品牌形象。

基于我们的发展历史和在香港市场的成功经验，太平洋咖啡将自己定位于一家“中西方文化融合、充满书卷气的咖啡连锁品牌”。为能充分显示品牌定位，太平洋咖啡品牌由此5个核心要素构成：一是中西方文化融合的场景，二是充满书卷气的氛围，三是与顾客温馨的互动，四是对咖啡品质的追求，五是与环境及社区的和谐相处。

这其中，第三、四、五点是基本要求，顾客是我们生意的核心，如何以我们真诚、细致的服务赢得顾客，使他们将太平洋咖啡当作自己的世界并享受其中，是我们这盘生意能否发展和持续的关键。对咖啡品质的追求是我们的强项，我们需要持续发扬光大，以展示太平洋咖啡专家的形象。这三点基本要求，必须保持在一个相当的水准，不能比竞争对手差，要做到极致，做到决绝。

中西方文化交融的场景和充满书卷气的氛围，是太平洋咖啡独特的气质。由此在市场上，人们就不会混淆你的面孔，模糊你的容颜。为了营造这样一个中西方文化融合的场景，我们在门店设计上融入了许多中国元素，与西式咖啡器具相得益彰。我们推出了“国酒咖啡”和“四大名派”，将中西方的元素混搭调和在产品中，这些大胆的尝试都是为了向顾客展示我们的不同。书卷气的提法源于我们的“每日金句”（Thought for the day），荒岛图书馆也是一个有益的尝试。我们希望太平洋咖啡有一些书房的感觉，人们在这里可以静思，可以感悟，可以指点江山、激扬文字。因为这种书卷气的氛围，我们的顾客闻书香而来，在咖啡香和书香的熏陶下，获得心灵的抚慰。

除了明确的品牌定位，我们也要着力解决如何推动未来发展的后台能力建设问题，包括人才培养、流程标准、食品拓展及供应链效率等等。2013年，我们会主动放慢脚步，认真总结经验，从失误中学习，在反思中学习。

2013年，太平洋咖啡的组织发生了重要的变化，总部要从香港迁往内地，这种组织调整正是为了适应和推动中国内地战略的实现。我们要完成组织重塑，形成组织能力，推动战略实现。香港是我们出发的地方，也是我们的根据地，要守住市场地位，守住利润，守住鲜明的商务定位，不断创新，将生意做到极致。

在零售业务方面，我们要通过旧店优化和开出有品质的新店双轮驱动，以最精确的品牌定位来展店，缩短显示盈亏平衡的时间。

企业咖啡服务有广阔的市场，我们优于Starbucks和Costa率先在市场上推出胶囊咖啡机，要将先发优势变成真正的市场优势、盈利优势。特许经营在内地也要加快进度，与直营店相互补充，扩大品牌的影响力。

咖啡连锁生意是强调情感投入的行业，一线员工非常重要。与顾客面对面，我们员工的精神状态、服务意识、一言一行都对顾客有最直接的影响。在太平洋咖啡，我们提倡“家文化”，关爱我们的员工，把员工当作自己的家人，也相信每一位员工能将这种关爱转化为卓越服务，去赢得顾客的忠诚。用心研磨的一杯，积极向上的一念，和谐温馨的世界，都在每一位员工的微笑和手中展现。

摘自：http://www.crcmagazine.com/2013/201309/13.htm

With Stunning New Stores, Starbucks Has a New Design Strategy: Act Local

• BY LIZ STINSON
• 01.08.14
• 6:30 AM

Last November, Starbucks opened a new store, just like they’d already done more than 1,700 times in 2013. Like the Starbucks you pass on your way to work, this new coffee shop has everything you need for your caffeine consumption ritual: a coffee bar, cozy lounge and enough coffee choices to make you wired for days on end.

Only there’s a minor difference: This new Starbucks is on a moving train.

The coffee behemoth partnered up with Swiss train company SBB to convert a double-decker train car into a store that people could visit during their workday commute. Logistically speaking, it’s a smart move; instead of making busy customers come to them, they figured, why not just go to the customers? “It’s all about us meeting our customers where they are in their day,” says Bill Sleeth, Starbuck’s vice president of design for the Americas.

You could read the sentiment as just another one of the company’s plays for worldwide caffeine domination, but the intense customization of stores is actually an ongoing effort to make the Starbucks brand a little less brand-y. “What you don’t want is a customer walking into a store in downtown Seattle, walking into a store in the suburbs of Seattle and then going into a store in San Jose, and seeing the same store,” Sleeth explains. So how do you make the world’s largest coffee house feel like a neighborhood haunt? The answer: good design.

There was a time when Starbucks really was the coffee shop next door, but that was a long time ago. The company opened its first shop in Seattle in spring of 1971 and stayed relatively small (under 100 stores) for the next 20 years. Of course, since then Starbucks has boomed to be the largest chain of coffee shops in the world. Today, there are more than 18,000 shops worldwide.

But let’s go back in time a bit. In the mid 2000s, the chain was doing great, opening a store a day, branching into new territories like Asia and South America. The design team had opening new shops down to a science—or at least a kit of parts that made it easy to launch a cafe with as little risk and time as possible. Come 2007, the economy went south, and so did some of Starbuck’s business. In 2008, the company closed around 600 shops, prompting a change in senior leadership, and ultimately a change in design thinking.

The company polled customers to find out what they thought of their not-so-little local coffee shop. It turned out that for a lot of people Starbucks was becoming synonymous with fast food. “The customers were saying, ‘Everywhere I go, there you are,’ and not in a good way,” Sleeth says. “We were pretty ubiquitous.” Ubiquity isn’t a bad thing; it meant people wanted what they were selling.

But what’s good for the bottom line (mass production makes things cheaper) isn’t necessarily good for the brand. Starbucks execs wanted to transition from the singular brand they’d been working to establish worldwide, to focusing on more locally relevant design for each store. “There are lot of reasons people come to us; we know people come to us because of consistency quality, speed,” says Sleeth. “But we need to do something that felt authentic.” But how?

To Design Local, You Have to Be Local

They began by getting people out of Seattle. In 2008, nearly all of the company’s designers were stationed at the company’s headquarters in the Pacific Northwest. This meant someone who was designing a new store for a neighborhood in Houston or Chicago or New York had maybe never even been to the city they were creating a store for.

“We couldn’t design locally relevant stores, stores that would resonate with our customers from Seattle,” Sleeth explains. So they began relocating their design team, pushing them out from the headquarters into the actual communities where they would be designing stores. Today, Starbucks’ more than 200 designers are working out of 18 design studios around the world, with 14 of them stationed in the Americas.

As the designers became more familiar with their surroundings, they began to incorporate the communities’ stories into the designs. There are thoughtful touches like furniture made from reclaimed basketball court wood at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. And a brass-instrument chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the new Canal Street location in New Orleans. But even more interesting than that was the cultural observations the designers were able to make.

With more people on the ground, they began noticing things that might make a difference in not just the aesthetics, but how a particular customer might want to experience the shop. In metropolitan U.S. cities, for example, people tend to come in pairs or alone. They’ll saddle up to a long community table next to a stranger without giving it a second thought. In more urban settings, people will just sit right next to each other, alone but collectively together,” he explains.

While in places like China or Mexico City, the Starbucks experience is much more group-oriented. “People are in bigger groups, so you have think differently about the seating there.” he says. “They won’t crowd together in a banquet like they would in New York City.” This drove the designers to place more individual stools in the shops, so people could drag them around, creating impromptu group seating areas. The design in the Kerry Center location in Beijing, feels like a lounge, with a “coffee workshop” on the second level meant to teach a predominantly tea-focused culture about coffee.

Design Is a Business

Creating hyper-localized design for every shop Starbucks builds is impossible. After all, Starbucks is a business, and businesses need to make money. “We know we can’t just go in and overspend,” Sleeth says. “We can’t turn every store into a flagship.” He says that Starbucks balances their design spend on the level of projected income a store is going to earn. So a shop that’s slated to be a big earner, like the one in New Orleans, will get more personalized touches than, say, a shop in York, Nebraska.

That’s not to say the designers don’t take care with every store they open. Sleeth and his team have been working to revamp the company’s standard kit—the parts that show up in most every Starbucks store on the planet. You’re always going to see the “school house” chair, a sturdy wooden seat with an upright back. You’ll see warm-colored ottomans, wooden tables and banquets. “We want it to feel custom, but we need to be able to scale it,” he says. “Because we do a lot of projects in a year.”

Much of the mass customization comes in the form of colors and materials. For example, in Miami and Los Angeles, the design team is more likely to use a lighter palette of colors to reflect the abundance of sunlight. Southern cities need furniture that is cool to sit on, and beachy locations need durable furniture to account for the sand that gets tracked in. “We were looking at how the floor had worn over 10 years because people were walking in with sand on their feet,” Sleeth says about a store in Miami.

Still, Starbucks is actively working to test and roll out more its concept stores, with its main focus right now on the pre-fab drive-thru stores made from shipping containers. The concept, originally executed in Washington and inspired by the shipping containers Starbucks employees saw out their windows, uses pre-fabricated materials that can be delivered on a truck, lowered into place.

So far they’ve built 11 of these modular stores around the country, which may not sound like much in the grand Starbucks scheme. But in a few years, drive-thru stores will account for around 60 percent of shops Starbucks plans to build, a good chunk of which will use this same pre-fabricated method. “The push for innovation and design is just starting,” Sleeth says. “This is the tip of the iceberg.”

Resource:http://www.wired.com/design/2014/01/starbucks-big-plan-to-be-your-cozy-neighborhood-coffee-shop/#slideid-386901

Starbucks & Twitter - tweet-a-coffee

McCafe is Boosting the Competition in China Market

Helen Dou 2013.10.11.

Starbucks Coffee, the coffee market leader in China; McDonald’s, the fast food leader in China. Seems like the two business giants are happy with their own dominant territories, but looking at the prosperous growth of coffee market in China, McDonald’s decided not to just watch but to take part in.

In China, McCafe has been spreading across 24 cities with over 500 stores now, while Starbucks has presence in 60 cities with more than 1,000 stores. By the end of 2013, McCafe has the ambition to open up 200 more stores in China.

McCafe’s giant success was not too hard to expect, even though at the primary entrance to the coffee market, people doubted: how can a fast food chain compete against Starbucks. By looking at the McCafe today, the question is answered well. 

1.     The perfect channel and guaranteed audience base. McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world with more than 18,710 outlets worldwide; in China, there are more than 1,500 outlets. It is easy to sell coffee along with the meals, not to mention many people would drink coffee anyways; McCafe just provides convenience for the customers.

2.     The price advantage. Even though China is a very promising coffee market, the annual consumption is only 3-5 cups per capita, coffee drinks are still expensive for many people. A cup of coffee sometimes is more expensive than a meal in China, so many people treat coffee as an indulgence rather than a everyday-must. However, Chinese people still desire to enjoy coffee, and McCafe provides good coffee for a 20% cheaper price and tasty just as good to most people. When the market is not mature enough to have deep understanding of coffee, price makes a great difference.

McDonald’s ambition in China is big. Currently, there are around 90,000 employees in China, and the company is planning to hire 75,000 more employees in this year. The recruitment represents the growing size of the business in China. Starbucks is the solid coffee market leader, but competitors like McCafe is making Starbuck’s victory challenged.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

Where Are All the Multinational Coffee Companies Going in China Right now?

Helen Dou 2013.05.29.

Starbucks:

Starbucks Goes on Chinese Grocery Shelves and into Chinese Families

Currently, Starbucks has more than 1,000 stores in China and is planning to open 1,500 by 2015. Not limited to the increase in store front, Starbucks has been investing on other distribution channels, especially in grocery. K-Cups and other products that could be taken home are becoming Starbucks' new hits. In doing so, Starbucks aims at increasing its home/indoor presence. Besides, the coffee drinks are expected to be found outside of Starbucks stores - the frappuccinos are about to be introduced into grocery store in China soon.

Starbucks China University

Starbucks' launched a Starbucks China University in Beijing in November, 2012. The curriculum covers all aspects of Starbucks operation in China. The institution is to provide talents for China's Starbucks growing business. An known goal of Starbucks is that to make China its second largest market worldwide.

Starbucks Farmer Support Center

Starbucks has established its first Asia farmer support center in Pu Er City, Yunnan Province, China. Starbucks has the commitment to elevate Yunnan province as a high quality coffee growing region. Starbucks has been working closely with farmers in Yunnan province and putting in efforts into local environment sustainability.

Resources: ChinaDaily, Forbes

Pacific Coffee Company

Advantage: Pacific Coffee Company is a subsidiary of China Resources Enterprises, Ltd, which gives Pacific Coffee Company a great advantage on the store locations in China. CRE has set aside HKD $5 billion for supermarket acquisition in China, while Pacific Coffee Company has planned to open stores in the Chinese supermarkets. Combined just looks perfect for Pacific's coffee business and for CRE's supermarket business.

Ambition: Pacific Coffee Company has stated its goal to be number one coffee house in China. It's competitor is Starbucks.

Geographical Information: 15 coffee shops in Shanghai

Resources: bloomberg, china south post

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Shanghai: 25 stores

Innovation: introducing the single-serve beverage system CBLT. This machine makes coffee making at home handy, but it's not for sale in China yet. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Campaigns: there is not obvious campaign since Feb 2012. 

Current Strategy:

- Tier 1 cities, and then tier 2 cities

- So-called "Win in China" strategy (no further detail had been revealed)

- Find a few developers for certain areas

Resources: cnbc, coffee bean china

85 degree C

Progress: 5 new stores have been opened in 2013 in Chengdu, Nanchang, Changsha, Chongqing, and Xinsu

Product range: coffee, milk tea, cake, and bread. This is very different from all other coffee brands, majorly because the brand provenance is Taiwan, which understands well about Asian customers. The brand focus is on bakeries.

In terms of social media efforts, all brands have official Weibo accounts and promote the lifestyle and new products.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

An Uprising Fashion Coffee Shop - Maan Coffee

Helen Dou 2013.10.10.

There is a new coffee shop fashion, majorly in Beijing, called Maan Coffee. Unlike big names that are frequently heard in China, such as Starbucks, Costa, or Pacific, they are western and historically associated with coffee, but Maan Coffee is an Asian coffee brand that owned by a Korean restaurant chain – Ai Jiang Shan. Ai Jiang Shan has three upscale restaurants in Beijing.

Maan Coffee was established in January 2011. The rationale behind is to build a place that is not rushing and fast. The founder is an experienced Korean restaurant owner, living in China for a few years, he realized that people need a nice place to talk and hang out. After visiting a U.B.C Coffee in Shanghai, Xin was inspired that coffee shops can be very functional, such as playing games, and started to look into a new style coffee shop.

The key words of Maan Coffee are natural and romantic. The Chinese name is "漫咖啡", which means romantic and is also identical pronunciation as "慢" (slow), and this has effectively expressed the idea of this coffee brand. The in-store environment design is like a spacious utopia, facilitated with cement walls, antique armchairs and desk lamp, as well as bookshelves. In order to demonstrate "nature", Maan Coffee even moved trees indoor. The service has been adjusted as well, after ordering, the customers do not have to stand at the end of the counter to wait for their drinks or food, Maan Coffee baristas will give each customer a lovely Teddy bear to play with while waiting for their order to be provided to table. In Maan Coffee, people can see a table as big as a single size bed, and this is substantially different from Starbucks. During weekend, it is common to see families gathering around big tables enjoying the food, drinks, and environment.

The menu has more than just coffee. Even though Maan Coffee is a coffee shop, the complete name is “Maan Coffee Ÿ Waffle & Toast”. The various exquisite food items give customers a wide selection and attract wider range of customers to find their appetites in Maan Coffee. The owner has very insightful understanding of Chinese customers. He knows that Chinese people like fresh food, thus he made the food preparation counter visible to most of the customers to show them the food here are not only delicious, but also very fresh.

Maan Coffee has opened 36 stores country-wide, and over 24 upcoming stores are under construction. China is a new coffee consumption market, but it’s already crowded. When big brands like Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Pacific Coffee are enjoying the profits, new entrants are finding different ways to share the cake. China’s close neighbor, South Korea, has a booming development of coffee business, and this has nurtured many successful Korean coffee brands at the same time. Even though Starbucks is the number one coffee shop in China, big Korean coffee brands like Caffe Bean, Angel-in-us, Hollys Coffee are already well known in China (thanks to the popularity of Korean drama). In China, coffee industry grows drastically, at the mean time, the competition is growing more fiercely than ever. Western coffee brands are facing strong Asian competitors now.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

illycaffe, the Innovative Italian Coffee Brand

Helen Dou 2013.10.7.

Illycaffe is an innovative coffee brand that specializes on espresso. Originated from Trieste, Italy in 1933, illy blend is now sold in over 140 countries worldwide. In China, illy is far behind Starbucks on physical store wise, but illy is enjoying the reputation of “high-end” coffee. As iFeng said, “Starbucks educated Chinese consumers [about coffee], and now illy is swooping in to evangelize.”

Illy adopts differentiating strategies than its competitors. Besides opening creative physical stores, illy is also the exclusive coffee provider in many five-star hotels, such as Portman Ritz-Carlton hotel, as well as in premium brand stores like Haagen Dazs. Illy’s premium strategy just the same as in Italy.

China is not a country prefers coffee drink traditionally, however, coffee brands have smartly penetrated in China market, and different brands play different roles in different phases. Nescafe is the coffee enlightener in China market; Starbucks is the educator; illy comes in as a strong uplifting alternative option for the Chinese coffee drinkers, who are seeking for higher coffee quality and unique coffee experience. We shall say, illycaffe is offering a different and premium coffee lifestyle to today’s Chinese consumers. The key words are “premium coffee lifestyle”.

The majority of illycaffe sales come from hotels and restaurants in China, which means a great opportunity to boost illy business in retail aspect. Illycaffe has identified their audience to be young people who consider drinking coffee is fashionable, and these people are more likely to appreciate arts, which is perfectly fit to illy’s culture and development direction. China has been becoming an increasingly important player in global economy and “young people” are rising, that is one of the main reasons Illy China general manager could confidently say to the public that it was not difficult for illy to make China market to comprise 10% of its global market.

Illy’s coffee & arts lifestyle has been introduced to China as well. After illy galleria opened in New York, Milan, Trieste, Istanbul, Berlin and London, the first Galleria Illy in China has been opened in Beijing in Oct. 26, 2012. The galleria is consist of international contemporary fine arts, performance of students from China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the art of gastronomy, etc. Throughout the galleria, illy is expressing its art, style and taste philosophy and values.

When Starbucks is the market leader and eye-catching brand in the crowded market, illy is a refreshing breeze to Chinese consumers.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

Starbucks' Social Responsibilities

Helen Dou 2013.10.1.

Just like any other successful western companies, Starbucks has taken the responsibilities on the environmental and social issues. While Starbucks is famous for being able to instil the coffee idea into the Chinese consumers' minds, and they have also nurtured the western environmental and social responsibility concept into Chinese mindset. Starbucks is surely a responsible company, and the responsibilities are good to generate more revenue and wider customer base.

Starbucks College Student Forerunner of Environmental Protection

Starbucks corporates with China Soong Ching Ling Foundation to encourage Chinese college students to carry out innovative activities of environmental protection and contribute to the communities. This year is the third consecutive year of this project. The effort is to increase the environmental awareness among college students.

Starbucks Global Service Month - Green Community

As an important part of the Starbucks market, Starbucks China has launched a series of community service activities in over 58 Chinese cities. Throughout the month of April from 2011 to 2013, Starbucks has successfully gathered 47,000 participants and altogether contributed approximately 71,000 service hours. These activities have well built in a "give back to society" concept.

Starbucks China Education Project

The integrated project involves different aspects of efforts.

• Improve the learning environment of rural schools and provide a better condition for the students;
• Fund the rural teacher quality improvement to increase the education fairness for the children in poor countryside, which mostly in western China provinces, such as Yunan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Chongqing;
• Water Education Project is a sub-project of the China Education Project. The aim is to increase people's knowledge of water safety and the importance of water quality.

Commitment to Origins - Global

Starbucks has promoted heavily on their efforts on sustaining the profit of coffee bean farmers to not let them suffer from volatile market fluctuations and support their families.

With all these projects and promotions of the social and environmental efforts that Starbucks has made, it is enough to impress the Chinese consumers and engage the promising generation, i.e. college students, to be hardcore Starbucks fan. 

As we all know, in China, the price of Starbucks coffee is not regarded as cheap but expensive instead. It is more expensive than in its home-country, while Chinese annual income is way lower than Americans. While Starbucks is benefitting from the higher unit revenue, Starbucks is also striving to build a green and generous image among Chinese consumers to give them a strong reason why they should buy Starbucks products, besides the reason that Starbucks products are premium quality. This will encourage coffee drinkers to choose Starbucks by reminding them that their contribution is not purely for the company's ambition, but for the good of the whole society.

All those community service activities are involving college students, or similar age age group. Starbucks realized that the concept of “community service” is becoming bolder in young people’s mind, because of the trend of studying abroad and the heavier focus on civil education, so it provides the opportunity to engage the young people. Also, it is a “cool thing to do” in most of the young people’s minds. Those activities are very effective in terms of fostering loyal customers.

Starbucks brand is inheriting in Chinese consumers’ mindset and becoming bolder.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

Development Statistics

Helen Dou 2013.9.29.

In China today, many well-known international coffee brands have found the path to reach Chinese consumers' tastes. With the noisy information online, sometimes a clear digit could explain many things and help new entrants to find a different route to establish their coffee.

Undoubtedly, the number of the coffee stores of each brand is the best indicator of the market position.

Starbucks Coffee: over 800 stores (as of 2013)

Costa Coffee: over 300 stores (as of 2013) 

Pacific Coffee Company: 181 stores (as of 2013)

85 Bakery Cafe: 385 stores (as of 2013)

Dunkin' Donuts: 42 stores (as of 2013)

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: 34 stores (as of 2013)

Maan Coffee: 34 stores (as of 2013)

Every coffee brand has great ambition and fierce growing plan. However, the market leader is likely be Starbucks for a while, but latter positions are variable.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.

The Retail Innovation of Starbucks

Helen Dou 2013.9.19.

September 17th, 2013 - Startbucks China announced its new launch of two concept flagship stores in Beijing - 咖啡礼赞 and 24-hour flagship creative store.

咖啡礼赞, which means praise of coffee or coffee tribute, concept store has demonstrate Starbucks coffee's heritage and leadership in the coffee market. This concept store locates in Beijing Kerry Hotel. It has two floors with coffee bar on each floor. The coffee bar on the second floor featured with a special function - Starbucks Workshop, that provides unique handcraft coffee, which allows the customers to choose coffee beans from various originations to roast and taste the flavors. All barista there have gone through more strict trainings and obtained the "Black Apron" certificate. Normally, Starbucks baristas wear green apron; for those who wear black apron, it suggests that the baristas are in expert level, and they should have better and more professional knowledge on coffee and coffee making skills.

On retail design aspect, Starbucks has incorporated with local artists. Local artists have brought in many traditional Chinese elements into the store design concept and helped Starbucks to tell its story in a local language. On the coffee bar surface creative, a traditional Chinese drawing pattern has been used to communicate the Starbucks coffee journey from planting to manufacturing. A full set of Chinese traditional elements have been adapted throughout the whole store. It is obvious that Starbucks has put in a significant effort on localization.

Another creative flagship store is developed around the concept "兼收并蓄、不拘一格", which means incorporate things of diverse nature and follow no set form. This store is located in Beijing Sanlitun, one of the most dynamic and energetic business areas of urban lifestyle. The first floor is installed clear and broad coffee bar and expresses a young feeling of the take away coffee; the second floor is decorated with long shape coffee bar along the window and wooden furniture, which has effectively contrasted the interior environment with the busy and crowded outside. However, people sitting inside can still feel the buzz of the exciting urban life. The relaxing environment provides people the perfect place for taking a break or friends reunion without excluding the business and fun urban environment. The second floor is also called Clue 1972 to commemorate the birth year of Starbucks. Another special event is that every weekend night, live music performance is held here to connect coffee and music, and this is also a great opportunity for local talent musicians to showcase their talent and live their music dreams.

Resource: starbucks.com.cn



Written by Helen Dou

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of StartJG Hong Kong.