Starbucks Sells Fairtrade International Certified Coffee
Starbucks Coffee is a chain that sells Fairtrade Certified coffee. Starbucks began purchasing in 2000 and now became one of the world’s prime purchasers of Fairtrade Certified coffee (“Coffee.”). Fairtrade International Charter’s has five core principles that companies are to achieve for certification and the next paragraphs will showcase how Starbucks achieves them.
Principle 1: Market access for marginal producers
Starbucks achieved the first principle by purchasing “coffee from small farmers in 29 different countries … [and buying] coffee at a higher than market price and guarantees future purchases” (Alter). With this, Starbucks has greatly impacted these small-scale farmer’s lives by insuring they have good long-term stability and financial security, farmers who aren’t otherwise noticed in the conventional market options. And “globally, Starbucks contributed over $3.5 million in Fairtrade premiums for coffee-growing communities” (Alter).
Principle 2: Sustainable and equitable trading relationships
Starbucks fulfills...
The main stakeholders of Starbucks include the employees, customers, suppliers, investors, environment and the government (Thompson, 2015). Starbucks gives priority to their staff and ensures that they are happy with the provision of better working conditions, job security, and higher wages. Thus, the company builds the community, facilitating the growth of the employees. The company listens to their customers to improve the quality of service and products. For instance, Starbucks creates a warm and friendly relation with customers to satisfy their social responsibility with this stakeholder. By ensuring their suppliers are properly paid through their Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFÉ) program, Starbucks fulfills their commitment to the suppliers through awareness. The company creates eco-conscious stores (Starbucks Corporation, 2016) and ensures to follow environmentally sound business practices using their foresight. Starbucks supports the emergency relief services. In 2005, they helped rebuild the Hurricane Katrina struck areas (Adams, 2007). Through their high financial performance in the industry, the company meets the interests of the investors proving the ability to conceptualize. Being an international company, Starbucks remains respectful of the people’s perspectives from the respective governments. Thus, they satisfy their commitment and
Coffee is a growing part of people’s daily lives. Just before the 9-5 weekdays, and even during the 9-5, it is common for the working class to drink a cup of coffee. To support this accustomed part of our culture, it involves a complex supply chain that allows those coffee beans to turn into a cup that can be consumed. This paper is structured on how Starbucks, the top coffee supplier in the world, can supply its stores, from raw materials to manufacturing, right to the start of someone’s day.
The company’s founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, has been successful in creating Starbucks into something that we didn’t really know we needed until we had it. He has meticulously crafted a brand for the company that adds a psychological value to its offerings. Thereby, when you buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, you buy an experience. The somewhat quiet, not-so-rushed atmosphere along with dimmed ambience and friendly staff found at Starbucks’ stores add a feel-good factor to your purchase. As a result, people are willing to pay a premium for coffee at Starbucks even if McDonald’s were running a promotion offering free coffee. The premium prices translate to superior margins for its investors.
The coffee bean supplier market is made up of mostly a few large suppliers, which would suggest suppliers have significant bargaining power. This power is limited by the sheer size of Starbucks which continues to grow, which mitigates supplier power as achieving such a large contract as with Starbucks is very lucrative. Furthermore, Starbucks has engaged in backward vertical integration, purchasing coffee farms in China and Costa Rica, to ensure their supply of high quality beans at a reasonable price, regardless of the increasing demand of high quality beans and the limited suppliers.
There are about 25 million coffee producers around the world and 50 percent of their coffee prices have fallen for the past three years (Background: Coffee). This indicates that the amount of money that the farmers receive from selling their coffee to other companies has lowered at an increase rate. As a result this becomes very disastrous because they are selling their beans more than the cost of what it takes to produce coffee beans. Then when the coffee beans are then sold to a company they receive little money from them, then that company would resale the beans for a much more price gaining profits which will never be given to the farmers. For example, a coffee farmer in Tanzania made about $60 from a production of coffee for a year, which its only 16 cents a day, this amount of money could not be able to cover the costs of producing more coffee beans and even to provide for his/her own family (Coffee Market).
Starbucks not only shapes a defined importance on its product, the coffee, but also the relationships on its partners, its customers and its shareholders to create diversity, “to create a place where each of us can be ourselves” (Starbucks Coffee), to treat all related partners with dignity and respect at the greatest corporate level. In this sense, Starbucks involves its customers, its neighbors and is shareholders to participate in the community to “be a force for positive action—bringing together [its] partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day (Starbucks Coffee).
Coffee is a worldwide cash crop of which demand has exponentially increased over the years. “Coffee is (after oil) the world’s second most important traded commodity” (Cleaver 61). Competing coffee brewing companies wage war on offering the freshest, best tasting coffee the market has to offer. With such stiff competition there must be enough coffee beans deemed to be good enough in quality to supply the increasing demand. Starbucks can be considered one of today’s top competitors if not thee top coffee manufacturer presently in business. This successful company has had a huge impact on the coffee industry as well as the world. They have gone through great length to provide consumers with an excellent product as well as create a legacy that shows how to best go about running a massive corporation while keeping the environment clean and healthy.
When Starbucks started their target market were people who enjoyed coffee not just for the energy boost that they got from the caffeine, but people who enjoyed sitting down and drinking a well-prepared cup of coffee. Upon visiting Italy and falling in love with the coffee bars and the experience that they offered, Schultz envisioned a place between home and work where you could just sit and enjoy your coffee. Starbucks wanted to control their coffee from “raw green bean to the steaming cup” this meant that they had to talk with their farmers to make sure the quality was up to their standards. They
Starbucks is currently the industry leader in specialty coffee. They purchased more high quality coffee beans than anyone else in the world and keep in good standings with the producers to ensure they get the best beans. Getting the best beans is only the first part, Starbucks also has a “closed loop system” that protects the beans from oxygen immediately after roasting to the time of packaging. They did this through their invention of a one-way valve which let the natural gasses escape but keeping oxygen out. This gave them the unique ability to ensure freshness and extended the shelf life to 26 weeks. Starbucks isn’t only about the coffee, it’s also about a place where people can escape to enjoy music, reflect, read, or just chat. It is a total coffee experience. The retail outlet has been responsible for much of Starbucks growth and has contributed substantially to their brand equity.
With a council in place and clear ethical guidelines established, we are sure that Starbucks will reconsider its current position on coffee trademarks and make way for new and improved trade between us and the whole world.
Introduction This paper will provide an argument for diversification to be presented to the board of directors for Starbucks. A strategy for diversification indicating the products and industries for diversification and how synergies may be gained. The identification and the discussion of the foreign market Starbucks should enter will be presented, along with the strategy it should use to enter the market. Challenges Starbucks may face in the foreign market will be discussed, as well as how it might respond strategically to minimize the impact of these challenges. Also, this paper will encompass a scenario when it would not make sense for Starbucks to diversify or expand into a foreign market, and how the company will create a business environment conducive to ethical behavior will be assessed.
An article in the Seattle Post, describes the alliance that Starbucks is making to ensure that a sustainable supply of high quality of coffee is produce in Latin America. "Starbucks President and CEO Orin Smith said the alliance is partly his company's effort to pass on the "high price" of a cup of coffee to farmers." (Lee, 2004). He states that the high price enables them to pay the highest price to the farmers. Though the high prices to suppliers can demonstrate that money get to farmers with being diverted. Starbucks overall goal with this alliance is to buy 60 percent of its coffee under the standards agreed upon by 2007. "The agreement reflects the growing power of the premium coffee market and efforts to exploit it for the benefit of small farmers" (Lee, 2004).
There are many topics that arise throughout the case with Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Coffee is located worldwide and there are many different ways to look at this situation. The company offers a unique range of coffee, lattes, espressos, and café style drinks. The company intended to reach a specific target audience, but has ended up in many different markets and has been growing rapidly. Starbucks has greatly used the “youth appeal” strategy to gain entrance into new markets. However, such enthusiasm cannot be counted on indefinitely; other strategies are always in the works. Over time Starbucks has been able to acquire a solid brand reputation and has a world renowned company logo.
The strategic vision that Howard Schultz had for Starbucks was "Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow". This s...