McDonald's brews a java war

Roland Ahlstrand packs coffee packets for McDonald's at the Green Mountain Coffee plant in Waterbury, Vt., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005. Green Mountain Coffee, based in Waterbury, will supply Newman's Own Organics blend coffee to more than 650 McDonald's restaurants in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and in the Albany, N.Y., region.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

In "McDonald's brews a java war: Chain adopts gourmet blend in New England to take on local favorites," the Boston Globe informs us that:

Starting next week, the fast-food chain will replace its brew in all 600 New England stores with Newman's Own Organics Blend produced by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. in Waterbury, Vt. It's the only place in the country where McDonald's is making the switch, and the move, analysts say, will help the Golden Arches capture part of the growing gourmet coffee market and better compete with Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks.

''We certainly hope to drive customers into the restaurant more frequently, and if we see some of our competitors' customers, we'd have no problem with that and welcome them with open arms," said Steve Kerley, McDonald's vice president of operations in New England.

Children peer out the window while eating hamburgers in a Chicago McDonald's restaurant, December 26, 2003. REUTERS/John Gress.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

McDonald's offering of gourmet coffee -- in the heart of the Dunkin' Donuts stronghold -- comes as other fast-food companies, including Burger King and Subway, are beginning to introduce gourmet brews to US customers. Newman's Own Organics, run by Nell Newman, the daughter of actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, is producing an exclusive blend of light and medium roast for McDonald's stores. Previously, McDonald's sold its own blend of java.
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In the realm of know what you are and know your customer, the fact is that 80% of McDonalds business comes from families with kids and young men under 30 (who eat in McD restaurants five times/week or more).

They'll likely sell more quality coffee to parents, but is that really the question? To my way of thinking, the question is will they drive more customers to their restaurants, who are likely to make a positive decision because of the new coffee offering?

I think not. Half to 3/4 of the experience of going to a coffee place, Starbucks or whatever, is the experience. (See Ray Oldenburg's books about "the third place.")

Starbucks, www.adactio.com.

www.you-are-here.com

Even if McDonald's provided free wireless computing, they are not likely to become a force in the "office away from home crowd" or the people looking for a break during the work time...

www.juliefowlis.com