coffee business strategies

I’m regularly asked how many and which flavors to carry on a coffee shop beverage menu. Remember, just like your coffee, your water and dairy, flavoring are igredients in the beverages that you serve, so you should always select them wisely. Never make your choice solely on convenience or to copy some other coffee shop or national chain in town. Always choose the ingredients that give your beverages the flavor that you wish to associate with your business.

My personal preference (and professional recommendation) is to eliminate as many flavors from clients’ menus as possible - anyone can pour sickeningly sweet syrup and chemicals into a cup; very few can serve a well-prepared cup of coffee, which can offer your business a competitve advantage.

Additionally, carrying a wide variety of flavors (of varying popularity) increases your inventory overhead, complicates the customer ordering process, requires extra storage space, and can potentially create sanitary issues (if using spouts or pumps, you must soak them ALL regularly).

Select those flavors most popular in your region and best compliment your flavor profile, then promote the ones best define the unique character of your business as a “signature beverage,” the drink or drinks that your consumers can get only at your location(s). If planned properly, those beverages can also be your most profitable.