Starbucks mulls delivery options

Starbucks mulls delivery options

Coffee chain giant researching possible partners in move to tap young consumers, writes William Hicks

Starbucks Thailand is targeting a younger generation by introducing new products. (AP photo)
Starbucks Thailand is targeting a younger generation by introducing new products. (AP photo)

Starbucks is considering the idea of offering online delivery in Thailand to capitalise on Bangkok's drink delivery obsession and appeal to a younger generation.

"Online delivery is definitely something we are considering," said Nednapa Srisamai, managing director of Starbucks Thailand. "We are still doing research to see how it will work in the market."

The US-based coffee giant already offers online deliveries in select countries.

Ms Nednapa said Starbucks Thailand is researching whether to partner with existing food delivery apps like Grab or Foodpanda. Starbucks Thailand already has its own app available in Thailand, but it is used to earn reward points and find Starbucks locations.

Earlier this year, Starbucks in the US partnered with the ride-sharing and food delivery app Uber to make online deliveries in select cities.

Starbucks operates 373 stores in Thailand and serves about 4 million drinks per month.

"The coffee market in Thailand is mature, but there is still room to grow," she said. "We have not achieved saturation yet."

Starbucks is No.2 in market share locally behind Cafe Amazon, but Ms Nednapa believes Starbucks will outpace competitors in growth.

In order to grow, Starbucks Thailand is looking at the new generation by introducing new products and capitalising on changing lifestyles.

This week, Starbucks introduced a line of ice cream and dessert products at 170 stores around the country, which included ice cream with espresso poured on top, a coffee ice cream float and pancakes with ice cream. The company also recently introduced a Nitro Cold Brew, which looks and vaguely tastes like a stout beer, but without any alcohol.

"We wanted to bring in something cold for summertime," Ms Nednapa said. "We want to have a whole range of products for everyone and expand our customer range."

The company wants more customers to spend time in Starbucks after work, while 54 of their stores are equipped with meeting rooms to allow customers to bring work to Starbucks.

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