Companies are constantly evolving as we the consumer ask for more, and adopt new and different ways of doing things. Starbucks forever changed the coffee experience making a latte a lifestyle experience, not just a jolt in the morning that needed a lot of cream and sugar to go down.
So now one of the hottest food retail trend is for companies to win the “3rd place” race. Why aspire to finish 3rd? While the thinking goes, that after your home, and work, everyone needs another place.
So who will win the the “heavy weight” race to come 3rd? I liked the Hartman thinking below:
The latest heavy weight news, filed under the media-created headline “coffee wars” finds pundits pitting, in one corner, McDonald’s with $27 billion in sales, against, in the other corner, Starbucks with $9 billion in sales. Seated ringside sits Dunkin’ Donuts, bent on sparring with any coffee competitor as the company expands nationally from its Northeast kingdom.
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When you look at this debate from the consumer perspective, it boils down to this: “Do you really want to hang out at McDonald’s?” We’re trying to be sensitive here, because we may have been a little guilty ourselves of overstepping our enthusiasm for experience and not the product. On the other hand we don’t think the future is necessarily all about experience. This is not to say we are downplaying the importance of experience, because we’re not. Here’s the litmus test: The next time you’re going to meet with a colleague say, “Let’s meet at McDonald’s as opposed to Starbucks,” and see what they say.