Starbucks taps Chinese market with Chinese brew
January 23, 2009 by Katherine Liew
Filed under Marketing
How much does the country of origin of a product matter to you?
A lot, Starbucks are betting for Chinese coffee drinkers.
With the Lunar New Year coming up on Monday (Jan 26) the Asian branches of Starbucks will be offering a new brew which will incorporate Chinese coffee. Called ‘South of the Clouds’, it will be the first international coffee chain to use beans from China’s Yunnan province (previously well known for its tea).
The question is: Will Chinese customers react well to coffee from their own country?
Starbucks claims that they are experiencing consistent growth in China, although it was only a few years ago that coffee was practically synonymous with ‘Nescafe’. Gourmet coffee in a country which has traditionally consumed tea has been a big step – perhaps helped by Starbucks’ infiltration of popular culture overseas.
Chinese consumers have lapped up foreign brands, especially in the luxury market.
Will they really want to drink coffee from their own backyard?
Country of origin marketing has been the subject of a lot of research – even though there are now rumours of Asian sweatshops in Italy the ‘Made in Italy’ brand remains untarnished.
Australia has tried to make its own brand with the ‘Australian Made’ campaign…
This icon can be found on anything from food to toys to clothing.
When you see it, what expectations do you have of the product?
This might be in contrast to your expectations when you see the stamp below…
With sweatshop allegations to milk health scares the China brand has taken several hard hits, but is still a major manufacturer of many consumer goods.
It is worth considering that some products are more sensitive to the effects of country of origin than others – wine and cars being very sensitive and software being a lot less sensitive.
Coffee will be an interesting experiment for the country of origin effect.
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The chinese DO love foreign brands.. but I’ve always thought foreign brands almost want to try and remain ‘different’ and ‘exotic’.
the localization of McDonalds in China seems to have worked well for them though, mmm.. peking duck wrap..
do Chinese beans have a reputation for quality?
As far as I know, the Chinese have only recently started growing coffee, so nobody really knows.
But I definitely agree – a big part of the Starbucks appeal is that they’re an American symbol. Having Chinese coffee could ruin it.
AS THE CUISINES AND VARIES OF SERVICES CAN BE ENJIOYED BY THE COFFESELLORS AS WELL AS CAN BE SEEMED EVERYWHERE IN THE GLOBAL STARTBUCKSHOPS.SEEMS THAT THE INDIVIDUAL WANTED SERVICES SOMETIMES ARE NOT BEEN SERVED COMPELETELY AND HUMANITILY.