24A Venture Concept No. 1

Coffee ATMs

Opportunity:

               The market I am trying to reach are college students and university faculty and staff. This market was constructed by the consumer need, where this product is demanded most (geographically), age, gender, lifestyle, and social status. Currently, customers are satisfying their needs by either not purchasing their favorite coffee due to long lines OR sacrificing their tardiness and waiting in the long coffee lines. I will say that I am a loyal Starbucks customer, but I kept thinking “there has to be a quicker way.” Coffee demands are at an all-time high for college universities. The “window for opportunity” is wide open and I plan on taking advantage.

Innovation:

               Our business has created the best new way to obtain your favorite flavor of caffeine. We have created the Coffee ATM. These ATMs act and looks like a vending machine, but has an entirely different function than the typical soda machine. This machine lets customers personalize their very own coffee. These ATMs are equipped various coffee additions, including milks, flavored coffees, flavored syrups, various coffee sizes, and more. Customers are able to order from their smartphone, online, or at the ATM itself. There are multiple pick-up cubbies in each machine to increase productivity and decrease wait times for users. Sizes will include small, medium, and large. Prices will start around $2.00 for a basic small black coffee with cream and sugar, and will increase by $0.15 per pump of syrup, and increase by $0.50 per espresso shot.

Venture Concept:

I think customers will switch to this product because our main goal is to provide users with faster service than our competitors. These ATMs will be located in various locations around college campuses, making it very accessible to customers. When looking at our competition, local coffee shops will be major factors, but Starbucks will be our biggest competition. Starbucks biggest weakness is the productivity level. In other words, Starbucks has a big problem in completing customers’ orders in a quick manor during their busiest times. Packaging, price points, customer support, location, and distribution do play a big role in defining my business concept. Our three most important factors are price points, effective distribution, and customer experience. Providing our customers with the quickest, inexpensive (compared to competitors), and most customizable beverages is our goal. When talking about the “physical” business, our business will have a main office, or HQ, that will house our management team and other employees. We will be working with outside vendors to fully stock our ATMs with all the necessary ingredients and containers a machine will carry. Our home-office team will be in control of all new beverage items and additional mixables (milk, creamers, syrups, etc.).  

-      -  In the future, I can see these Coffee ATMs finding their way into city streets and office buildings. The plan is to start small, test out on one major college campus, and then start expanding.