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Beginning with a single shop in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Starbucks has transformed into a well-established global brand and a leading coffee giant. With over 33,000 coffee shops, Starbucks came to life with the vision of its three founders, Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegel, who named it after “Starbuk”, the first mate in the classic novel ‘Moby Dick’, authored by Herman Melville.

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Inspired by the coffee roasting entrepreneur, Alfred Peet, the founders decided to base their business model on selling high-quality coffee beans and equipment. As Starbucks emerged out of the shadows of its competitors by the early 1980, a new era began. This was after Howard Schultz joined in 1982 as the head of marketing.

The beginning of a new era  

Schultz noticed that first-time customers were often confused in the stores due to their limited knowledge about fine coffees. So, he worked with store employees to develop customer-friendly sales skills and created brochures to help customers learn about the company’s products.

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When Schultz visited Milan in the spring of 1983, he had the biggest idea for the future of Starbucks. He was impressed by the cafés in Italy and learned that Milan alone had 1,500 coffee shops. Inspired, he thought of transforming the regional business into a national chain of coffee shops. Baldwin and Bowker, however, were unenthusiastic about Schultz’s suggestion since they preferred that Starbucks remained purely a coffee and equipment retailer rather than it evolving into a café.

The shift from a retailer of coffee beans to a chain of cafés 

Schultz quit Starbucks in 1985 after he was unable to convince the founders and launched his own coffee chain, named Il Giornale, which swiftly spread to other cities. However, Il Giornale purchased Starbucks in 1987, and all operations were merged under the Starbucks brand. Along with the sale of beans and equipment, the management devised a dedicated café concept for company.

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The coffee shop network expanded from 20 locations to having more than 100 in just four years. After the firm went public in 1992, Starbucks continued to see rapid growth. Starbucks started operating in locations outside of North America in 1996, and it quickly grew to become the biggest coffee shop company worldwide.

What has made Starbucks so successful? 

Based on a study by Danish analyst Martin Roll, Starbuck’s success has been attributed to its brand philosophy, brand strategy and brand communication.

Brand Philosophy 

Since its early days in the 1990’s, the coffee shop chain has built its brand through a great customer experience. Informal and casual conversations between employees and customers are used to capture the overall mood and gather feedback, in addition to quantitative market research. 

Brand Strategy 

The corporation has made enormous investments to create a uniform look and feel for its locations, products, and food and beverages. One of the most recognisable trademarks in the world is the Starbucks Siren. One of the main goals of the company’s worldwide expansion strategy is to replicate the Starbucks experience. Because of this, regardless of whether a store is located in New York, New Mexico, Moscow, Tokyo, or Shanghai, customers will essentially have a consistent experience.

Brand Communication  

Without brand communication, one of Starbucks’ most prized intangible assets would not have been feasible. The brand’s internal creative team published its branding standards on its website in October 2019. Starbucks has invested a substantial sum of money in marketing and brand awareness projects. In 2008, the company spent around $200 million, while the company was experiencing slow growth. However, by the time of its first global brand campaign in 2014, the shift towards brand communication was complete

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