The "Starbucks experience"

I was inspired by the success of Starbucks and how its ingenious market-entry strategy into China took the world by surprise in the early 2000s and thought a quick article might be insightful for those who are interested in their journey.

Starbucks understood the gap between coffee drinking in Western culture and China's traditional tea-drinking culture and saw the potential to introduce coffee in a market with little-to-no coffee competition. In 1999, CEO Howard Schultz capitalized on the tea-drinking culture of Chinese consumers by introducing beverages using popular local ingredients such as green tea, in which consumers quickly developed a taste for coffee drinking, but more specifically- #Starbucks. Not only did Starbucks overcame potential obstacles but, effectively turned them in their favor.

One of Starbucks’ key marketing strategies is to provide customers with an exceptional experience through unique interior designs and the personalization of stores in each market, bringing forth the feeling of a home away from home. By doing so, they gave consumers a reason to start off their morning or stop in between breaks for a unique coffee experience. Additionally, innovation plays a huge role in today's competitive market. Aligning a company's core competencies with the market's culture is crucial, without it, your brand loses purpose and relevancy to competitors.