Starbucks is hoping its new fresh-brewed Pike Place Roast will boost sales.
Pike Place is a nostalgic brand for Starbucks and part of CEO Howard Schultz's plan to reconnect with the company's customers and return Starbucks to its roots. The new brew is named after Starbucks' original store-location in Seattle's famed fish market.
Starbucks aims to offer fresher coffee, and Pike Place will be freshly ground and brewed in smaller batches that hold for no more than 30 minutes, the company has said.
Starbucks is marketing the coffee in specially designed cups that use the company's original 1971 logo and brown trim around the white cup, instead of the usual green stripe.
''Having lost their way over the past several years, Schultz knew that he had to do something. And generally when brands lose their way, the first thing they would do is go back to their roots,'' branding expert Rob Frankel said.
The push to sell better fresh-brewed coffee comes as Starbucks faces a stingier consumer and stiffer competition from McDonald's Corp., Dunkin Donuts and even Wal-Mart for coffee and espresso drinks. Rising gas-pump prices and food prices are making some people reconsider how much they are willing to pay for coffee or meals at restaurants.
''It is a real desperate sort of hope to recapture what they lost,'' Frankel said of Pike Place and the competition Starbucks faces. ``Clearly, as a leader, Starbucks may be a victim of its own success.''
McDonald's is taking thinly veiled jabs at Starbucks on a website to promote a new McCafe espresso product at its fast-food stops in the state of Washington, where Starbucks is headquartered. McDonald's is also in the midst of rolling out coffee bars inside its locations.
''No crazy names or sizes. No second language required,'' McDonald's says on its UnsnobbyCoffee.com site, which also includes a word game called ''snobby coffee intervention'' that offers a free coupon for those who play.
Starbucks stock is down 11 percent this year and 42 percent over the past 12 months.
