Dunkin Vs. Starbucks — the Battle for Iced Coffee
Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks have been locked in a battle over iced coffee promotion for some time. Dunkin Donuts is attempting to promote their flavored iced coffees, but Starbucks is branching out to a new kind of iced coffee that is completely different from that found at Dunkin Donuts. The success of their campaigns is debatable, and campaigns are listed below according to their general focus.
#1: Dunkin Donuts Flavored Iced Coffees The flavored coffees from Dunkin Donuts are new products designed to offer greater variety to customers. Dunkin Donuts is bringing more flavors than Starbucks offers, and their special
flavors are offering customers more ways to order their coffee. Dunkin Donuts is not a coffeehouse in the traditional sense, and these special flavors make ordering easy for customers.
#2: Starbucks Cold Brewed Coffee
The Starbucks cold brewed coffee campaign offers coffee that has been steeping since early in the morning, and the small batches created by each store only last so long. You must purchase your iced coffee before it runs out, and the flavor is much more pure than the iced coffee you would order normally. You may add flavors to the cold brewed coffee, but there are several batches of iced coffee you can add flavors to. The cold brewed coffee is meant for the coffee enthusiasts who are looking for the best flavor.
#3: Who Is Winning?
Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks appeal to two different types of people. Starbucks is a community coffeehouse where people come to work, meet and relax. Dunkin Donuts is a place that offers ice cream, sandwiches and coffee products. Coffee is only a small percentage of what Dunkin Donuts sells, and their iced coffee flavors simply give their customers more to enjoy.
Starbucks appeals to customers who enjoy coffee and a community atmosphere. The cold brewed iced coffee offered at Starbucks will give customers a chance to taste the flavors offered by their many different blends. You can try the iced coffee in every blend you enjoy, or you may try the featured blend of the month.
Neither company is winning the war over iced coffee, but each company is providing something new that its customers will enjoy. The iced coffee creations from each company are tasty on their own, but customers must decide which style of iced coffee they prefer. Both companies win when their customers are consuming their new products.
Jonah Engler is a financial expert and an entrepreneur from NYC.