Posted on

Starbucks Raises Prices Despite Declining Coffee Costs

ar120666126841477-1

Coffee purveyor increases average price by about 1% to cover rising wages, rent

By
JULIE JARGON
July 6, 2015 2:02 p.m. ET

Starbucks Corp. is raising prices slightly on some of its beverages to cover rising costs including wages and rent, even as prices for raw coffee have been falling.

The Seattle company, like other coffee purveyors, often raises prices for its products when coffee prices increase, but the latest move comes despite a decline of about 42% in Arabica futures prices from a peak late last year. The increase, which takes effect Tuesday, will increase the cost of the average customer order by about 1%, Starbucks said. Bagged coffee won’t be affected.

The increase comes from an overall need to manage business costs, including labor and rent expenses, a Starbucks spokeswoman said.

“Our pricing philosophy is to balance our need to run our business effectively while providing maximum value to our customers,” she said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/starbucks-raises-prices-despite-declining-coffee-costs-1436205612

9 thoughts on “Starbucks Raises Prices Despite Declining Coffee Costs

  1. Perhaps, you should be preparing your own at home. It is a little cheaper and perhaps better.

  2. Are they raising prices on coffee, or double mocha frappa dappa half soy caramel americana skim lattes? Because I never buy those. I just get coffee.

  3. Actually, from my own experiences, the coffee made in most homes is crap. Even those who buy the good coffee, the way in which they make it produces substandard results.

    You could apply the same logic to food. Why go to a restaurant when you can make good food at home.

    People just like to go out and when they do, they more often than not, go out to eat and/or drink.

  4. Bulldog Coffee in Ridgewood isn’t bad either.

  5. No surprise… Starbucks was always in it for the “bucks”… they just have good marketing.

  6. The coffee tastes burned to me. I have heard that others have the same reaction. I go only when somebody makes me.

  7. Unless you fresh grind the coffee within a specific time frame after it is ROASTED (at its peak flavor), your coffee will lose taste flavor and body, eventually going stale.
    Starbucks to its credit claims to fresh GRIND each pot (they used to grind once a day in the morning) but they DO NOT ROAST ONSITE – so they have less control over roast-to-grind-to-brew date.
    They have 4 roasting “factories” nationwide – the closest to NJ is York PA.

    Also each bean and blend has a different timetable – generally light roasted beans have a longer “wait period” than dark roasted beans. Starbucks generally has darker roasted beans thus having tighter time frames from roasting to peak flavor. Some beans peak within hours, others within a few days. Also, the amount of time that a particular bean shows well after peak varies as well – some are best from 4-8 days post grind, others 3-4 days while others are only 8-24 hours… it all depends on the bean and the roasting process.

    That said, it is likely that post-peak or stale coffee is being served in Starbucks (and other coffee shops).

    Coffee brewing for optimal flavor is complex and roast-to brew time is only one aspect – but it is VERY IMPORTANT and often overlooked – a great bean well roasted and ground and brewed too late can result in a lackluster cup of coffee.

    The only way to get a great cup of coffee is to control the process from roasting to grinding to brewing yourself.

    Most coffee (at home or in shops) is not great.

    Then again, most people buy Starbucks for status and familiarity – and will never know if it is good or bad coffee…just familiar.

    Kind of like people who buy a BMW then use it to ferry the kids to dance class and soccer practice and never push it to the limit on twisty back roads – never knowing how good it once was and how soft and “stale” it has become…

  8. My folgers instant coffee tastes better

  9. Sorry, I’m a Dunkin’ gal when I’m not brewing at home.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *