Coffee, wine, beer and cheese at Starbucks?

After almost 40 years, the Seattle-based coffeehouse chain worth a reported US$15 billion, is branching out to test the introduction of wine and beer to offer customers more choice in the evenings. The first store is opened at Olive Way on Capitol Hill, Seattle.

Kris Engskov, regional VP for Pacific Northwest at Starbucks, explained, “People are interested in more options during the afternoons and evenings at Starbucks.”

Starbucks is planning to roll out the offering on a global level if the initial café-restaurant concept, currently being tested in Seattle, is successful. Alcohol will be served from 4pm onwards which could change the way the business works as Starbucks currently makes 70 per cent of its money before 2pm daily.

Engskov added that the store is serving food, like cheese and bisque, on china crockery to “elevate the Starbucks experience at night”.

Michael Robinson, shopper marketing practice lead of APAC at Momentum Singapore, said the decision on whether to diversify the focus is tough. He said, “Starbucks understands that their brand equity loses relevance as the day migrates to night and the shopper mindset is not on coffee and pick-me-up’s.”

The idea would work in the States as people are more open to new brand experiences, but, in order to establish itself in the wine and beer culture, Robinson said it will have to be clever about naming the nighttime offering.

Referring to McDonald's success with its morning coffee service, standalone coffee corners and WiFi gaming zones as an example, Robinson says the fast food company has not strayed far from its core business of fast-food, whereas Starbucks is aiming for whole new brand experience. 

He adds that it will be a long while before the changes are implemented in Asia. Starbucks is extremely successful here and perhaps even covering losses suffered in the US. 

“If and when it [Starbucks wine and food concept) does come to Asia, it will have to be under a new brand name, a shared space that is Starbucks by day and ‘Charcuterie and Cheese’ by night,” Robinson said.

2010 is a big year for Starbucks as it works to revamp its retail store designs in major cities in the US, Europe and some parts of Asia like Hong Kong and Japan.