The Kölner Starbucks Effect

Starbucks coffee at Köln Dolm

Starbucks: a McDonalds story?

Thoughts automatically focussed on the marketing strategy of Starbucks. I don’t know it particularly well. However, in the first instance, it seems like a McDonalds story. This means: geographically expanding by buying properties or buying out others in order to create some sort of “experience”. For Starbucks, I would call it the “New York Coffeehouse from Friends Experience”.

Why didn’t I have that Coffeehouse Experience?

I believe exporting a product from one culture to another isn’t that easy. Maybe Europeans are used to drinking coffee elsewhere? Maybe Europeans want better coffee (I did not like the coffee that I ordered, tasted like carton)? Did Starbucks create the wrong expectations in my head? Was my view biased by Rachel, Ross, Monica, etc. ? Whatever might be the reason, I won’t be a Starbucks fan on facebook – millions already are!