The Seattle’s Best company began as a combination ice cream and coffee shop and changed hands and names many times before it became Seattle’s Best. It wasn’t until 2003 that Starbucks took parental control. Starbucks acquired its then rival, the Seattle Coffee Company, for $72 million dollars
With the competition getting hot and heavy with McDonalds introducing its own successful line of coffee drinks, it is thought that Starbucks is using a double barrel to blow the McBeverages out of the water. In fact, this was suggested by an article in Time Magazine entitled “Starbucks Hits McDonald's with Seattle's Best” which states, “Last week it announced that it would sell one of the premium brands it owns — Seattle's Best Coffee — in Burger King and Subway restaurants, at AMC movie theaters and at supermarkets and coffeehouses across the country, with 30,000 locations in all.”
Seattle’s Best, a subsidiary of Starbucks, is not a Starbucks clone, but a company with its own identity, especially when it comes to coffee. The Seattle’s Best brand is considered milder than the bold flavor one comes to expect from Starbucks.
My experience with Seattle’s Best was on a cruise with Royal Caribbean. The coffee was provided ship-wide and there was also a Seattle’s Best coffee shop with amazing pastries on the promenade deck of the ship.
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I think the kiosk will do well in NYC. While it’s true that the competition is stiff, in New York there is always room for one more. New Yorkers are always on the hunt for fresh quality foods and great coffee.
“Starbucks Hits McDonald's with Seattle's Best”
Read article.
