INTERNATIONAL MARKETING ASSIGNMENT 3

MBA 4018

TOPIC:
Interview of Marketing Manager of

GROUP MEMBERS
BARNALI DHAR 20212MBA0056
OM PRAKASH MAHATO 20212MBA0070
KETHRIN HORO 20212MBA0166

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. UTTAM CHAKRABORTY
SOM
HISTORY:
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and
roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest
coffeehouse chain.

As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 countries, 15,444

of which were located in the United States. Out of Starbucks' U.S.-based stores,
over 8,900 are company-operated, while the remainder are licensed.

The rise of the second wave of coffee culture is generally attributed to

Starbucks, which introduced a wider variety of coffee experiences. Starbucks
serves hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, micro-ground instant coffee,
espresso, caffe latte, full and loose-leaf teas, juices, Frappuccino beverages,
pastries, and snacks. Some offerings are seasonal or specific to the locality of
the store. Depending on the country, most locations provide free Wi-Fi Internet
access.

Starbucks was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon
Bowker at Seattle's Pike Place Market. During the early 1980s, they sold the
company to Howard Schultz who – after a business trip to Milan, Italy –
decided to convert the coffee bean store into a coffee shop serving espresso-
based drinks.

In addition to drinks and food, many stores carry Starbucks' official

merchandise, such as mugs, tumblers, scoops, and coffee presses. There are also
several select "Starbucks Evenings" locations that offer beer, wine, and
appetizers. Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are
sold at grocery stores in the United States and other countries.
STARBUCKS INDIA –
In January 2011, Starbucks Corporation and Tata Coffee announced plans to
begin opening Starbucks locations in India. Despite a false start in 2007, in
January 2012 Starbucks finally announced a 50:50 joint venture with Tata
Global Beverages, called Tata Starbucks Ltd., which would own and operate
outlets branded "Starbucks, A Tata Alliance". Starbucks had previously
attempted to enter the Indian market in 2007. Starbucks did not cite any reason
for the withdrawal.

On 19 October 2012, Starbucks opened its first store in India, measuring 4,500
sq ft in Elphinstone Building, Horniman Circle, Mumbai. Starbucks opened its
first roasting and packaging plant to supply its Indian outlets in Kodagu,
Karnataka in 2013.
PRODUCT –
Apart from the usual products offered internationally, Starbucks in India has
some Indian-style product offerings such as Tandoori Paneer Roll, Chocolate
Rossomalai Mousse, Malai Chom Chom Tiramisu, Elaichi Mewa Croissant,
Chicken Kathi Roll and Murg Tikka Panini to suit Indian customers.[42] All
espressos sold in Indian outlets are made from Indian roasted coffee beans
supplied by Tata Coffee. Starbucks also sells Himalayan bottled mineral water.
[43] Free Wi-Fi is available at all Starbucks stores.[44]

In January 2017, Tata Starbucks introduced Starbucks' tea brand Teavana

offering 18 different varieties of tea across its outlets in India. One of the
varieties, called the India Spice Majesty Blend, was specifically developed for
the Indian market and is only available in India. India Spice Majesty Blend is a
blend of full leaf Assam black tea infused with whole cinnamon, cardamom,
cloves, pepper, star anise and ginger.[45]

On 15 June 2015, Tata Starbucks announced that it was suspending the use of
ingredients that had not been approved by the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI). The company did not specify what the ingredients
were or which products they were used. The company also stated that it was in
the process of applying for FSSAI approval for these ingredients.[46]

Tata Starbucks launched the Starbucks Delivers program in early 2019. The
service offers home delivery from Starbucks outlets through a partnership with
Swiggy. The service was first launched in Mumbai, with plans to roll it out to
other cities.

PACKAGING –

Tata Starbucks has completely transitioned to compostable and recyclable

packaging solutions across its India stores in 2019.

This announcement complements the company’s plans to eliminate single-use

straws globally by 2020.

Tata Starbucks CEO Navin Gurnaney said: “Sustainability is embedded in the

fabric of Tata Starbucks’ mission, which is driven by the aspiration to have a
completely ecological platform – from working with farmers, to our supply
chain and delivering the end product across all our stores.
“We are proud to be the first in the industry to be adopting all recyclable and
compostable packaging solutions across our stores in India to further innovate
the Starbucks Experience for our customers.”

The company started eliminating single-use plastics across its stores in the
country in 2012. It opened its first store that offers paper bags, sleeves and
napkins made from recycled fibre.

The company has introduced various sustainable initiatives such as glass serve
ware for food and beverages. It has also included compostable items such as
wooden cutlery and stirrers, paper cups and straws, CPLA and PLA lids made
from corn starch, and splash sticks for takeaway orders over the years.

Tata Starbucks has established a partnership with a local recycler under its
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) plan in order to help in recycling
waste.

SEGMENTATION –
Starbucks is a premium coffee brand; its customers are mainly from the upper
economic segment or the upper middle class and upper class. The brand targets
people who want a peaceful space to drink coffee and lose stress. These are
mostly the higher wage-earning professionals, business owners, or other higher-
end customers in the 22-50 age group. People with a fast-moving lifestyle want
good quality coffee and some space to relax after a hectic day. Starbucks offers
all these privileges in a single place. The target audience of Starbucks includes
both male and female customers, and a large bunch of these customers are
mainly in the 25-45 age group. Mainly the urban, health-conscious, and class-
conscious consumers. The truth is, the company has done so well by knowing
exactly who its target audience is at any point in time and going all-out to cater
to those set of people.

So summed up, their target audience is-

 High-income spenders
 Urban-ish, on the go
 Technology early adopters
 Health-conscious professionals
 Flexible to change
 Reaching Beyond the storefront
Now that we understand their foundation and business, let’s finally begin to
uncover the marketing strategies that have led to Starbucks becoming the giant
it is today.
POSITIONING –
The Starbucks outlets in India are known by “Starbucks: A TATA Alliance”.

Starbucks has a history of adapting localization for its expansion in the foreign
markets. Eg.India, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and much more.

Starbucks localization strategy is a mix of local products with innovative store

designs, so they can fully adapt to the culture of the location. It maintains 18
design centres worldwide, which work to understand and conceptualize store
designs to reflect the local market.

Starbucks in India is localizing its brand and adapting the Indian culture in the
following ways.

Design Of Stores
Starbucks made the design of the stores very Indian. The main motive behind it
was to make Indians comfortable and have a community feeling inside the
outlets.
Mumbai stores have wooden tables with wooden carvings and Pune stores have
copper artifacts that honor the copper culture of Pune.
Similarly in Delhi, the stores have the ropework design which was heavily
influenced by the local culture.

Introduction Of Indian Flavour

We Indians have the habit of eating along with coffee/tea. So, Starbucks has
introduced Indian dishes like Konkani Twist or a Reshmi Kebab Roll in their
menu along with other tried and tested muffins and sandwiches
As we Indians prefer tea more than coffee. Hence, Starbucks have introduced
Tata’s branded tea called Teavana and Himalayan water beverages to add to the
products.
Due to the introduction of these food items in their menu, the revenue from food
and beverages is more than 35% in India which is more than 20% higher as
compared to the USA.

Keeping Competitive Price

Starbucks kept its price competitive in India as compared to its competitors like
CCD, Barista, etc as India is a price-sensitive market. One of the major ways
with which Starbucks minimizes its cost is by the help of TATA.
All the Starbucks coffee available in the Indian market is supplied by TATA
Coffee. As a result, Starbucks saves a lot of money by not importing coffee.

Marketing Strategies of Starbucks

Initially, Starbucks’ marketing mix in India was segmenting consumer markets

on a socio-economic basis. Concentrating on working professionals and their
need for a soothing workspace. Starbucks also segments its market on a
geographic and demographic basis by setting up the stores where they can find
their target audience mentioned above. Most companies enter a new market by
focusing on a single segment, and if they happen to achieve some success,
branch out into more segments. Starbucks did the same and now caters to
teenagers and young adults as well, by developing its product range and social
media marketing presence.

Starbucks’ marketing mix has helped the brand develop a unique market
position for its products, where it’s about the brand’s overall differentiated
experience. They have positioned themselves as a highly reputed brand.
The company’s marketing mix, to target the modern, tech-savvy generation, has
also grown the use of digital technology as well as social media for promotions
and customer engagement.

Digital Expansion
One of Starbucks’ key priorities is to expand its digital interactions with
customers. To do so, it is implementing new ways to attract digitally registered
customers beyond the rewards program. For example, the coffee chain is
offering mobile order services and leveraging Wi-Fi sign-ins at its brick-and-
mortar stores.

Starbucks Social Media Strategy

Most people are familiar with Starbucks on social media. The company’s many
social media accounts are known for their distinctive branding, interactive posts,
and visually pleasing content. The diverse range of content includes recipes,
photography, articles and features. But there’s more than meets the eye. The
stream of content can be broken down into a series of campaigns geared at
creating a greater sense of brand awareness and community.

Starbucks Product-based Marketing Campaigns

Starbucks focuses on promoting unique and fan-favorite beverages. The brand
knows how popular their flagship items are, but more importantly, they know
their audience craves this kind of content. They’ve even created social accounts
for customers’ favourites -Pumpkin Spiced Latte and Frappuccino- where they
push relevant and relatable memes to their die-hard audience. This is also where
user-generated content (UGC) comes in. Consumer images of the more
Instagrammable products, such as the Unicorn Frappuccino, are often selected
to be re-shared via the official channels and also used in influencer campaigns.

Starbucks Corporate Social Responsibility-based campaign

Starbucks uses social change as a marketing tool, positioning itself as open-
minded and inclusive. One example is the #ExtraShotOfPride campaign that
supports the LGBT+ community.

Community-based campaigns
Another facet of Starbucks’ digital strategy is its emphasis on highlighting
individuals and communities. the #RedCupArt campaign, which not only
increases engagement but also provides them with a library of UGC content.
They use storytelling to show acts of courage and kindness in American
communities, localizing the content. Starbucks puts in conscious efforts to
humanize the company by sharing stories on their account which highlights the
employees who play an essential role especially when consumers are distrustful
of big brands. This sense of community also makes online coffee content social,
very similar to how they practically invented the modern coffeehouse culture
back in the day.

Festive Marketing
Starbucks has also initiated a new seasonal whole-bean coffee,
#StarbucksDiwaliBlend, for their consumers across the country and select
global markets. The latest exquisite blend is hand-picked and sourced from Tata
Estates in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Starbucks Diwali Blend is intended as a
tribute to the region’s rich and cultural coffee heritage and expertise.

It launched the #SketchTheBlend campaign where customers have to share their

creativity on the Diwali Blend cup and sleeve and could win 5 free beverages.
Starbucks Marketing Strategy Case Study - Marketing Strategies of Starbucks -
Festive MarketingWe now thoroughly understand the various strategies that
comprehensively contribute to their top-notch marketing. Let’s dive deeper and
analyse their overall digital presence.

Starbucks Digital Marketing Presence

Starbucks knows its audience is technologically advanced, which makes it
imperative for them to have a strong digital marketing strategy. It’s clear how
Starbucks prefers marketing on platforms where they have two-way
communication instead of platforms like print and television which is more of
one-way communication.

Instagram – 248K+ followers

Facebook – 1.1M+ likes
Twitter – 161K+ followers
Starbucks posts daily on its social media handles and comes up with challenges
and games to engage its customers and increase its fan base
The posts and engagement are consistent through all platforms and believe in
creating an experience as compared to just a promotion channel
The recent Flipkart Starbucks twitter battle was an example of how active and
fun a brand like Starbucks is and shows exactly why the brand is sought after
with its target audience, especially the millennials. Outside of campaigns, they
show numerous images on their platforms of friends and family enjoying drinks
of Starbucks coffee together, interspersed with high-quality content that
promotes seasonal products. By doing this, Starbucks has integrated itself into
consumers’ social life.

Marketing During Covid-19

Expansion
CEO Navin Gurnaney announced that they are launching drive-thrus to
encourage people to engage with them, and home delivery to make sure they are
connected with their customers during the pandemic. The first drive-thru was at
Ambala Chandigarh Expressway in Zirakpur. They have also launched their app
– Starbucks India App so that customers can easily navigate and purchase their
offerings.

#ReconnectWithStarbucks campaign
Starbucks launched its social media campaign in 2 phases. The first phase was
where they asked their customers to share their ways of reconnecting amidst the
pandemic and share their favourite Starbucks memory on their personal
Instagram handles with the hashtag #ReconnectWithStarbucks.

In the second phase- “Half Cup Full”- they asked their customers to comment
on their favourite beverage on the post. They then sent these customers voice
notes of baristas hollering the customers’ names along with their favourite
beverage to remind them of the famous in-store experience.

This was a great campaign as it not only reminded the people of all the good
memories with Starbucks but also made them feel important and valued.
#StarbucksAtHome and #StarbucksDance
Starbucks launched 1 litre of freshly brewed beverages that could be bought via
take-away or ordering through Swiggy and Zomato. 7 flavours were launched at
the price of Rs.550 per bottle.

To promote the same, Starbucks launched the #StarbucksDance challenge

where it asked its customers to shoot a dance video with the drink and upload
them on their personal stories. They promised a year of free Starbucks for the
winner.

Conclusion
In conclusion, Starbucks is leading the market because of its dominating global
presence and leadership. A consumer’s experience at a Starbucks location is
arguably different from any other coffee shop because of its intimate
atmosphere, welcoming environment, and unmatched service. Their inviting
“ideal coffee shop ambience” should prove to be a sustainable competitive
advantage. Starbucks’ implemented strategy of retail locations and on-site
partnerships have received greater response rates, giving them the leading seat
within the mature industry. Starbucks, thus, has a strong market position
through its all-inclusive marketing strategy.