An Open Letter to the New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol

Hey Brian!

It’s me, Karan, an Indian marketeer, industry observer, and a Starbucks fanboy.

When Starbucks launched in India with its very first store in 2012, I was there! Truth be told, I had grown up watching Bollywood flicks in which Ranbir Kapoor and the likes were seen crossing the roads at Times Square, holding their morning cuppa joe. Since then I was curious about the green-mermaid-thing on their cups. Only if I could also have one and finally feel (and be perceived) cool. I would be happy to grow out of my desi Indian CCD visits & taste a bit of, well, the American Life.

It’s been 10+ years since then, and believe you me, I have grabbed my hazelnut latte from one Starbucks store or the other almost every other day (more so in the last 3 years of working-from-cafes). 10 years, 20 different Starbucks outlets and nearly 995+ cups later, here I am, planning to graduate out of 星巴克 life and get married to regional Indian coffee players Blue Tokai & Third Wave Coffee (who have begun killing it), or have new flings with the latest Canadian & Brit mates in town (read Time Hortons & Pret A Manger ). If you’re curious to know why I might be just 1 of the many youngistanis who might be shifting slowly (but surely), here are 3 reasons why:

1. The Indian-ness: Growing culture to celebrate local

Starbucks has a tight rope to walk here. On the one hand, it definitely must retain its American vibe, English-speaking baristas & premium price-points. On the other hand, it must keep a close eye on cultural trendspotting, like woke Indian GenZ’s preference to retain, preserve and perhaps celebrate their own authentic Indian-ness. Having launched 6 fl.oz sized Picco beverages along with a slew of desi flavours in 2023 was definitely a welcome move. But I am sure there’s much more work to do here, especially when merely paying lip-service to hiring local, sourcing local, etc is quickly identified by the evolved Indian segment.

Pertinent to mention that while Starbucks is sticking to its 100% English playlist, Blue Tokai has a dedicated webpage that shouts “We are gonna celebrate Indie music artists from the nation when it comes to cafe music. And honor Indian art-forms when it comes to branding our packagings, menus, and walls.”

As I type this in my study, I am sipping on my Blue Tokai cold brew. I did buy Starbucks Kenya Roast a year back for INR 1000+, but am getting an equally good kick out of Tokai’s INR 500-ish priced beans from Attikan Estate.

2. Work-From-Cafe Infra: Free Wi-Fi, plug points, community tables, ergonomic chairs

Earlier I used to prefer Starbucks because of the Wi-Fi, plug-points & well-lit community tables that gave me a conducive environment to work for many hours at a stretch. Whenever I used to experiment with other cafes, I never found a good one as far as work environment is concerned (some on-purpose did not give plug points, explicitly stickering ‘pl don't work here. Allow the next customer to sit!).

But my recent sessions at Tokai & Third Wave at Mumbai & Bengaluru pleasantly surprised me with their wifi-plug-table game on-point! 1 less reason to visit Starbucks. Or let’s say 1 point of differentiation wrt Brand Experience has been normalized.

3. Good Coffee, Good Price:

Local players Tokai & Third Wave are brewing good coffee to give a stiff competition to not just Starbucks but also Pret & Tim.

I know many coffee aficionados & connoisseurs would love to fight with me (with their knowledge on coffee’s intricate notes & body & flavours), but the point I’m trying to drive home is that a certain level of ‘quality’ has already been met by all the top players.

And here comes the punch- their pricing just a tad bit lower than Starbucks sweetens the deal when my value-conscious middle-class Indian brain kicks into the decision-making mode.

I do strongly believe that a certain HNI strata of India’s metro cities will happily shell out the extra-bucks to continue their association with everything premium or luxury. But there is a HUGE market segment of aspirational class (not born rich, not from business-class) who have just started earning decent incomes to afford quality-experiences. Even though they can ‘upgrade’ their lifestyles, they still demand that the price points are within a reasonable bracket of acceptance.

Now please don’t get me wrong here. The Starbucks-lover in me still buys his coffee merch from your stores, but the intent of this letter is to shed light on a growing consumer trend that I sense will continue for the foreseeable future.

On the one hand, I am sure every cafe leadership has its robust, internal research team telling them, “XYZ is not our direct competition. We cater to a different TG and our game-plan is different.” On the other hand, here I am perhaps dropping signals that there are loyal customers lapsing out to competition.

Some solutions to ponder (read ‘my personal wishlist’):

• Picco For All: Introduce Picco across all stores, not just in a select few. Chai-shot lovers like me would love to grab just a small sized cup many times through the day.
• Salads to be there 365 days a year, across India: The fitness-freak in me still stands confused as to why the lovely Protein Bento-Boxes come and go randomly across stores & seasons. The health-wave in India is growing, and youth needs at least 2-3 healthy options stacked next to the sugar-laden, cheesy alternatives.
• Throw in just a dash of Indian-ness into the brand experience. And I do not mean by way of masala variants of food items or chalk-illustrations of Indian monuments, but in ways that feel coming from the brand values.

Starbucks has already won my heart over & over when it comes to its iconic brand, be it its masterstroke decision to put customers’ names on cups & call out customers by their names, or be it its seasonally changing cafe decor & professionally trained baristas who go the extra mile to ensure your cup is perfect.

The list goes on. I am sure that the coffee-game in India would be an exciting one, and I would love to see how you & the awesome leadership spearheading India market would ensure that brand ‘Starbucks’ evolves as per changing times.

Love & respect,

Karan

P.S. Still got my eye on that next Starbucks merch drop—some habits die hard! ?

#starbucks #bluetokai #thirdwavecoffee Brian Niccol #karanrana