This paper would try to identify (a) market and non-market strategies that Starbucks has used in Colombia since 2014, and (b) market and non-market strategies of the domestic competing Colombian brand, Juan Valdez (a national symbol), who represents the Colombian coffee brand worldwide. The research will also include The SWOT analysis identifying weaknesses, opportunities, strengths and threats, if Starbucks in Colombia will continue to grow in the domestic market. Globalization, by …show more content…
Starbucks was able to find a $3 million funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help build a research facility in Manizales, Colombia, to make sure that the get closer to the farmers, and have them received good training to become more knowledgeable on how to produce the best beans possible. The funds will also help pay for agronomists to analyze soil and inform growers on factors that affect profit and yield, including fertilizers, climate and pests. This move guaranteed that Starbucks gets the best beans possible, and directly from its source. In this way, Starbucks and farmers would get better prices and a guarantee production. At the same time, a sort of “lobbying” was going on in the political arena, where licenses, permits, compliances, and due processes were somehow oversighted. Starbucks, like any other foreign company, was able to run their business in one third of the time, or less, compared with any other domestic company. It is important to mention that the products from foreign food chains, like Starbucks, are almost always more expensive than their domestic competitors, and only middle upper income individuals could buy. Starbucks provide more diversified products, comfortable environments, and access to technology (ex. free …show more content…
Starbucks enters humbly in Colombia without generating direct competition with Juan Valdez Café, only seeking its own market (for the moment) by increasing consumption of Colombians, and increasingly driven by the preference for new experiences over a cup of coffee. This is reflected in the proposed plans of opening more stores, and Juan Valdez further increase of its sales by 30% since the arrival of