Comparison Of Starbucks And Dutch Bros Coffee

Two existing companies that I have chosen to evaluate, one large and one small company, are Starbucks and Dutch Bros Coffee. Starbucks is a large American coffee company that was founded in Seattle, Washington. It has a revenue of $22.4 billion and currently has about 254,00 employees (Starbucks Corporation, 2017). Dutch Bros Coffee is a privately held drive-through coffee chain located in Oregon with revenue of $77 million and growing and only 170 employees (Forbes Media LLC, 2017). I thought it would be cool to see how these two companies are the same and/or differ. Through research, I was able to develop a short list of their top three competitive advantages as seen below. Starbucks:

1. Care for their customers- Starbucks is truly connected

Love their customers- Just like Starbucks; Dutch Bros Coffee is all about their customers, maybe even more. They LOVE their customers. This company does whatever they have to do in order to make their customers happy and loved. Even though it may be a quick stop for the customer and they are in a rush, it should be a magical experience (Bolsinger, 2015). This experience can make their whole day. Dutch Bros Coffee is seriously all about the love for their customers and this has put them up there with a competitive advantage that builds relationships and loyalty.

2. Love each other as a crew – Not only does this company love their customers a lot, but also their crew. If their crew is not happy their customers are not, and that affects the success of their business because customers will not have a good experience. That is why this company works on coaching each other and trying to really love one another (Bolsinger, 2015). This is on constant repeat! But this is what gives them that competitive

When compared to Starbucks there is not as much to go by yet, since it is a smaller company still, but they are a successful small company and are continuing to grow and be a competitor. In my opinion, I find these advantages sustainable. Although it is challenging at times and there is tough competition out there and rising, these advantages are sustainable. Both companies should be able to make their customers and workers happy regardless, but keeping that passion and care for others should help in doing so. I feel as though if each company is producing and maintaining what they are promising, high-quality products and services, then they should be able to really sustain these advantages, but with that being said both companies should always still be looking for innovative opportunities. Starbucks has shown that they have the financial resources to keep these advantages going on and on, and I feel as Dutch Bros Coffee continues to grow, as they are, they will as well. Both companies are bringing in new customers in and have great competitive advantages, so it is up to the companies to keep that success going and improve when needed. You never know what can happen, and as an entrepreneur, it is always better to be prepared, just like Dutch Bros Coffee will be when they face a