Over the last few days, the beverage world has been buzzing with the early release of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). The crowd favorite, which for many marks the beginning of Fall, sparked two debates this year: Has the taste changed (for better or for worse)?
Timely and insightful! Thank you. We just discussed Starbucks and supply chain in undergraduate competitive strategy... I will have to share this with them.
Excellent article! And timely, given that on my holiday weekend road trip, wherever I couldn't get my customary cortado, I discovered the joys of the "Chocolate Cream Cold Foam" Starbucks concoction :-)
But at least one upside of the "bougie" San Francisco coffeeshops/roasteries I typically frequent is that growers of the non-mass-produced beans used there are likely receiving better prices (from buyers of "single origin," organic certification, or other quality distinctions). A decade ago, I worked for the non-profit Technoserve in rural Peru, helping cocoa and coffee farmers incorporate these kinds of "value-add" processes into the supply chains.
While coffee retail prices in the US will probably continue trending upward, there are ways that farmers can better benefit from this. Growers' revenue would be boosted by more government/private sector investment in upstream activities like transporting and processing, as well as the encouragement in Brazil/Vietnam/Colombia/etc. of domestic consumption of higher-quality coffee (reduces farmers' risk from volatile export prices, since almost all the "good stuff" gets shipped abroad).
I can’t believe I’m sending a relevant college humor skit to Gad but here we are, enjoy 😂 https://youtu.be/d1mbbYKPpHY
Timely and insightful! Thank you. We just discussed Starbucks and supply chain in undergraduate competitive strategy... I will have to share this with them.
Excellent article! And timely, given that on my holiday weekend road trip, wherever I couldn't get my customary cortado, I discovered the joys of the "Chocolate Cream Cold Foam" Starbucks concoction :-)
But at least one upside of the "bougie" San Francisco coffeeshops/roasteries I typically frequent is that growers of the non-mass-produced beans used there are likely receiving better prices (from buyers of "single origin," organic certification, or other quality distinctions). A decade ago, I worked for the non-profit Technoserve in rural Peru, helping cocoa and coffee farmers incorporate these kinds of "value-add" processes into the supply chains.
While coffee retail prices in the US will probably continue trending upward, there are ways that farmers can better benefit from this. Growers' revenue would be boosted by more government/private sector investment in upstream activities like transporting and processing, as well as the encouragement in Brazil/Vietnam/Colombia/etc. of domestic consumption of higher-quality coffee (reduces farmers' risk from volatile export prices, since almost all the "good stuff" gets shipped abroad).