For Extra Kick, Your Ultimate Coffee Bar

Want a steamy fresh concept for your supermarket?

Want a steamy fresh concept for your supermarket? One that could become practically addictive, potentially increase trip frequency, prolong visits, become a promotional lever, and multiply the impact of the hottest-selling brands on your store shelves?

Consider the Ultimate Coffee Bar, a distinctive supermarket take on popular coffeehouses, though with three powerful advantages the others lack:  Ample parking spaces. A complete food environment that stimulates. The ability to fresh-brew multiple brands (not just flavor varieties), which appeals to consumers that want to sample freely and change up their tastes sometimes, and encourages two people or more to go together because all of their coffee desires could be satisfied.  There would be no veto votes in the supermarket’s Ultimate Coffee Bar.

The Lempert Report percolated this idea while discussing the results of a Market Force survey that pitted operators against each other on numerous measures and cited consumer favorites on each—and showed low new visitor/trial rates in the segment. To us, it didn’t matter much which chains won. It mattered how strongly we felt that consumers could have it all in supermarkets’ Ultimate Coffee Bar, where trial could be ‘easy as pie’ (or any other accompaniment).

Here are several steps to give your own version of this a kick:

• On an individual store basis, identify the six best-selling packaged coffee SKUs—they could be Dunkin’ Donuts Hazeulnut, Starbucks French Roast, Maxwell House Regular, or any other brands.
• Brew these brands consistently. Also build a ‘first-to-market’ excitement by sampling new varieties promoted and supported by the CPG brand.
• Mine frequent shopper data to identify the favorite coffees of this key group, and brew these too. Also, analyze their market baskets to see what else they buy when they take home packaged coffee—and promote and serve these relevant items at the Ultimate Coffee Bar. Donuts, bagels and spreads could be just the start.
• Don’t forget teas, milks and the latest sweeteners that health-driven customers will want.