In a recent statement, Starbucks announced that it would be serving beer and wine at one of its locations in Seattle. Starbucks has "learning lab" stores throughout their system to test new products like this and will be testing their new line at a newly revamped Seattle location.
Starbucks so far has a pretty solid lock on the addiction of thousands of people for their daily caffeine addiction, and looks to add to that with the addition of beer and wine to their menu. The one line they haven't so far crossed is the addition of liquor to their collection; and that would definitely change the possibilities when stepping into your local Starbucks.Imagine yourself in line at your local Starbucks when the barista asks you, "Would like an extra shot of espresso, an extra shot of tequila, or both?"I might be making too many assumptions, but that's probably a line we don't want to cross as a society honestly. The ubiquity of the Starbucks cup as a caffeine container would suddenly have far reaching consequences on the street and most specifically at the office.Or maybe we'd just go back to the days of "no more than 3 cocktails at lunch" but that would be "no more than 1 shot in the morning and 2 at lunch". But seriously, do we want to cross these lines again?
Starbucks can do whatever they want as a company, its their business; quite literally. But as a business proposition this one seems like a loser. By diluting their product offering they lose the essence of what they are. Beer, wine, and coffee don't really go together that well anyway; maybe wine and coffee if you want to cater to the booming avant guard sector in Seattle.
In my opinion Starbucks should stay well clear of the beer and wine market simply because they have no credibility in that market. Their coffee is definitely in the high price category for coffee (compared to local shops) and to be able to charge corresponding prices for their beer and wine they are going to have to build their credibility from scratch. One little misstep, such as trying to sell discount wines or moving into completely different areas like wine delivery, will end all their movement into this buyer's market.Although I don't think much of Starbucks' plans, it does give me one bit of good tidings. That the next time I walk by a Starbucks on my way to a local coffee shop I can start asking the people coming out if they've started serving umbrella drinks yet.
