Choosing my weapons: coffee and danishes at dawn

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from USA Today

McDonald's eyes premium coffee market

Premium coffee uses higher-quality beans — and is pricier.

"Coffee has increased in popularity beyond a breakfast beverage," spokesman William Whitman says. "We see an opportunity to bring our customers a better-tasting product at a value price." Still undecided: what kind of premium coffee to sell; what to call it; what to charge for it; and when to roll it out. Never mind that. After testing specialty coffee with McCafe coffee shops, McDonald's now is hankering to jump into the $8.9 billion market. The number of adults drinking it has nearly doubled in four years.  Premium coffee could bump up McDonald's sales by 2%.

Think it will be something beneficial?

Think it is worth premium prices at a fast food outlet??

For you? For McDonald's?

Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death & sweet as love.

--Turkish proverb

[jglazer75]

Think it is worth premium prices at a fast food outlet??

For you? For McDonald's?

Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death & sweet as love.

--Turkish proverb

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Depends on what the 'premium' price is. I am of the firm belief that NO cup of coffee should ever cost more than $1. Otherwise, I'll just make it myself. That's not to say I haven't PAID more than $1 - I just don't like to. Having said that. If McD's wants to compete w/ Starbucks they DEFINITELY need a lower price point (say around $1.50 for a med/lg). Given that...I would consider going to McD's over Starbucks. It would be nice if McD's worked out a licensing deal w/ Intelligentsia (a Chicago roaster) who makes a great cup o' Joe and already has production capabilities to ramp up for that size of an order. (I would guess)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Depends on what the 'premium' price is. I am of the firm belief that NO cup of coffee should ever cost more than $1. Otherwise, I'll just make it myself. That's not to say I haven't PAID more than $1 - I just don't like to. Having said that. If McD's wants to compete w/ Starbucks they DEFINITELY need a lower price point (say around $1.50 for a med/lg).

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Thanks for your input on this item! I think it may run more than $1 but I also think that if it turns out to be as good as they plan, that people will come up with more money for it ... look at the rest of their menu items ... people spend more than they had hoped all the time ...

[jsolomon]

Wow, this is such a weird concept. A place that typically sells premium coffee is normally expected to be a slower pace on the inside. And, this place doesn't sell coffee in paper or plastic.

That being said, McDonald's thrives on high turnover and throughput. I can't see them tapping into the coffee culture well without having some form of slower-paced McCafe. That's so weird. I can't wrap my brain around it right now.

[missmaia]

It sounds just WRONG to me. I think that the golden arches have already stolen enough of our country's money and soul...I'm sure they'd just find some way to pervert the beans. Augh. Pardon me for being catty.

[MarketStEl]

Wow, this is such a weird concept.  A place that typically sells premium coffee is normally expected to be a slower pace on the inside.  And, this place doesn't sell coffee in paper or plastic.

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I can't wrap my brain around the idea of McDonald's selling premium coffee either, at least not in its existing restaurant chains including Boston Market, but as far as places that do sell premium coffee are concerned, let me assure you that you can indeed get the stuff in a paper cup. Not everyone who patronizes the three coffee shops that are within a half-block of my apartment (I swear I live on the most caffeinated block in Philadelphia) lingers at them, and for those on-the-go customers, all three offer coffee to travel in paper cups.

I will grant that these places serve their sit-down customers coffee in real mugs.

[phaelon56]

"Premium" coffee is a relative term. Typically it means all arabica beans rather than some dreadful Robusta blend but arabica beans alone do not assure one of great cup of coffee. The larger the volume any vendor must purchase.... the less selective they're able to be about which lots of arabica beans they receive.

Places such as Starbucks, Caribou Coffee and Dunkin Donuts are among the many purveyors who sell "premium" coffee but it doesn't always mean that a good cup will be had on every visit (or even any visit depending on who you visit and what your tastes are).

A place that typically sells premium coffee is normally expected to be a slower pace on the inside. And, this place doesn't sell coffee in paper or plastic.

I'm not sure I understand this. In the US market it's absolutely essential to offer coffee and espresso drinks in "to-go" cups. 90% of our weekday business (three locations) is with people who get the coffee to go and are generally in hurry to get the coffee and get on with their day. Weekend days see us with a far greater percentage of folks who want to linger at a table to enjoy their beverage but Monday - Friday people just don't have the luxury of hanging out. We do offer ceramic cups but few people take advantage of them.

It would be nice if McD's worked out a licensing deal w/ Intelligentsia (a Chicago roaster) who makes a great cup o' Joe and already has production capabilities to ramp up for that size of an order. (I would guess)

Intelligentsia is one of the premier regional roasters in the US and doesa great job but I think you're underestimating two things

1) The potentially huge volume of beans that an operation like McDonalds would consume with their thousands and thousands of outlets

2) Price issues. Places like Intelligentsia typically mandate a quality standard first and then adjust the price to meet profitability needs next. It's not that they aren't price conscious from a competitive standpoint but they sell based on quality, not price point. You can expect a place like McDonalds to buy the beans themselves on contract and sub out the roasting to some huge operator that uses fluid bed continuous conveyor roasting systems rather than traditional drum roasters. It's all about "productivity" and price point.