Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Dunkin' Donuts Edges Starbucks








http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/02/26/starbucks-dunkin-donuts-biz-cx_tvr_0227starbucks.html

***Big thanks to my good friend K Kulp..Ad Agency Diva for sending me this article!

1 comment:

JD Speer said...

I noticed that they this article picked up on the coffee / donut shop hybrid positioning. That we discussed in the differentiation post.

One thing they did not discuss is the backlash against Starbucks pricing. On numerous occasions within the last year I have heard consumers ranting that about the fact that they just do not enjoy the taste of Starbucks enough to warrant the price. I roast my own coffee so I am always curious to talk to others about coffee quality and freshness. Many people say that they can not stand the burnt taste of drip coffee from Starbucks, they enjoy the latte, but the price is too steep considering there are so many alternatives for the same product.

I truly feel there is a lot of room in the coffee market for the "hybrid" product. Good drip coffee and fresh sweet goods. I think DD can fill this market well. I think within the Austin Market they may need to think about other products than just a donut. There are some very health conscious consumers in this market that will want the quality coffee at a good price, but may not want the donut, maybe a nice baked organic zucchini nut-bread instead.