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Case Study

Roasting Plant coffee: From engineer's dream to customer's delight

By Jim Pulcrano, John Huffman, Luiz Felipe Kossmann de Menezes, Pablo Cadaval Santos, Rodrigo Paupitz, Bhevan Chandrasena, Ivan Breiter, Felipe Elink Schuurman and Markus Masseli

13 pages

July 2022

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Reference: IMD-7-2391

Our story starts in 2001. Mike Caswell, an engineer and early Starbuck’s employee, creates a technology that permits better flavor and increased margins, for fresh-roasted coffee in retail stores. Years of engineering and fundraising, franchising, disputes, hopes and frustrations ensue. Jamie Robertson joins in 2017, as both investor and CEO of a new unit in the UK and opens a store in London. The Covid pandemic hits, but Jamie perseveres, as he has realized that it is the customer experience that will make the difference. Jamie and his team open additional stores in London, Jamie is named CEO of the group, and eventually they are successful in raising significant funds for expansion in the UK and the US.

Learning Objective

Understanding the path from idea to success.
Dissecting great technology from the value it delivers to customers.
Exploring the perseverance that is required to be an entrepreneur.

Keywords

Strategy, Business Model, Coffee, Innovation, Retail, Expansion, Brand Management, Customer Experience, Value Proposition, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Marketing

Settings

Roasting Plant, Consumer Goods, Coffee, Consumer Services, Retail
2001-2022

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

Related material

Teaching note

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