Coffee Franchises

There is no doubt that Starbucks is a dominant force in the coffee industry.  It quickly rose and took the number one spot, as the dominant coffee shop.  However, is it becoming too big and cannibalizing itself?  Is their aggressive pricing model too much?  In this article, we will discuss different aspects of the Starbucks franchise.

Make no mistake about it -- Starbucks is much more than coffee.  That is one of the reasons for their success.  Many people look forward to going to Starbucks simply because of the environment.  The wonderful smell cannot be found anywhere else.  In addition, the ability to customize your coffee is a great way of personalizing the whole experience. 

Also, they offer many different trendy things all under one roof.  This is good to bring in the young crowd during the night.  There is music, wireless Internet access, and "baristas" there to serve you.  Compare this to Dunkin donuts.

Let's consider what Howard Schultz once said -- he won't stop until there is a Starbucks on every corner.  In fact, some people joke that nowadays it is possible to walk out of one Starbucks and into another.  Yet still, you cannot deny the innovation.  Almost every time you walk in to one, there's something new on the menu, or they are tweaking some part of the business model to make it better.

Actually, the term Starbucks coffee franchise is a bit of a misnomer.  In fact, the regular investor is not allowed to buy Starbucks franchises.  The company itself operates most of the Starbucks stores in North America.  The obvious exceptions are those Starbucks that are located as joint ventures with grocery stores, hospitals or on college campuses.

Only very rarely has Starbucks coffee franchised their name with a group or individual, and allowed them to manage and operate their own Starbucks outlet.  In each case, there was special considerations involved.

While owning a Starbucks isn't a possibility for many investors, there are other many other options that are competing, that might be appealing to the investor.  For example, there are coffee kiosks and even drive-through coffee shops that are popping up all over the North American continent, and growing in popularity.

While there is technically no such thing as a Starbucks coffee franchise opportunity for most investors, understand what makes Starbucks successful, and use that to help you evaluate other franchise opportunities.

Coffee Franchises |