The old driver will show you the price secret of Starbucks caffeine.

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▲ Starbucks "double-tailed Mermaid" brand value, let die-hard fans forget the rising price of coffee. (photo / Visual China CFP)

It has been 19 years since Starbucks came to Taiwan, and it has flourished on the Internet after experiencing the Asian financial turmoil and the financial tsunami. During the com period, a group of die-hard fans were also cultivated. However, the price of a cup of coffee is still concerned by many people, and it is often studied by economists. But I believe that people who care about prices are probably just "passers-by".

I remember that Zhan Hongzhi mentioned in his book "Urban people: feelings, symbols and explanations of Urban Space" (1996), "you find a small coffee shop on the ground floor of a skyscraper at the corner of downtown." Its decoration is exquisite, small and lovely; the service is unique and the coffee is so mellow that even if one day you are thousands of miles away from the city where you live, one night you will suddenly think back to that clean, bright corner and feel that the city is your home. " I think what Starbucks coffee sells is the feeling of space and American culture. The price of a cup of coffee includes visible raw materials, labor and marketing costs, and the premium paid by invisible consumers to enjoy brand symbols and space.

The interlocking effect of symbolic value

Starbucks takeout and domestic coffee are the same price, although you will feel that take-out will lose the value of enjoying the sense of space, but it still gives you a sense of symbolic value. Of course, Starbucks will not use "differential pricing" to make take-away coffee cheaper, because it will expose premium content.

From a marketing point of view, the symbolic value of the double-tailed Mermaid is definitely a "rigid demand" for Starbucks' loyal fans. Even though Starbucks has adjusted the prices of 29 drinks since February 2017, profits from January to May are still better than those of the same period in 2016, proving that 1.2 million members still support price increases (or don't care about them at all).

If interpreted in economic terms, the "rigid demand" of Starbucks die-hard fans is absolutely very low "price elasticity" (that is, price increases do not affect consumption), which also means that die-hard fans remain unmoved even if the overall price increases by 8%. The reason is that the symbolic value of its "double-tailed mermaid" makes die-hard fans forget the price of a cup of coffee. In addition, don't forget the "magic" of stored value cards. Diehard fans who use stored value cards will mistakenly think that they are free after paying for stored value, that is, at the moment of stored value, no matter how much money is stored, it has been "lost". So that every consumption is mistakenly thought to be free, so it is "locked" and creates the so-called consumer loyalty.

▲ has reported that Starbucks sells more caffeine per cup of coffee than other brands, and is addicted to drinking it for a long time, which is the reason why it dares to raise its price. (photo / Visual China CFP)

Recently, there was a rumor on the Internet about the revelation of a former Starbucks employee in Japan: "the one who wins the cup at Starbucks is an absolute idiot!" This comment sparked a heated discussion among a large number of netizens. How to order a latte at Starbucks?

According to Starbucks' website, there is a positive correlation between caffeine and price, more specifically, the price is determined by caffeine.

Hot latte (small cup), caffeine 75 mg, 110 yuan

Hot latte (medium cup), caffeine 75 mg, 120 yuan

Hot latte (large cup), caffeine 150 mg, 135 yuan

Hot latte (extra large cup), caffeine 150 mg, 150 yuan

Espresso (Solo), caffeine 75 mg, 80 yuan

Espresso (Doppio), caffeine 150mg, 95 yuan

Therefore, the whistleblower is not a whistleblower at all, but he does point out the fact that the bigger the cup of coffee, the stronger the caffeine. But as explained above, do Starbucks fans really care so much about the price of caffeine?

Xiangzikou Economic sharing Cup

It is also clear on Starbucks' website that when it comes to caffeine (just to refresh and enjoy the sense of space), the most cost-effective solution is to order espresso, which can save RMB55 when compared to a latte; if you just want to be flavored as a latte, small and large hot lattes are also a solution (that is, no medium lattes). However, the training in economics tells me that drinking Starbucks this way is actually cheaper:

Go to Xiao 7 to buy a small bottle of fresh milk (about 30 yuan) after microwave heating, shake all the way to Starbucks

Order double espresso (Doppio)

Ask for an extra empty cup with the shop assistant

Combined with hot milk (which has shaken some micro-bubbles), it can be divided into two cups of medium hot latte.

According to actuarial calculation, 240 yuan (two medium hot lattes) costs only 125 yuan (a box of fresh milk and espresso), and my consumer surplus is 115 yuan, which is still the cheapest of my "Xiangzikou Economic sharing Cup"! Enjoy 100% fresh milk and Starbucks coffee and sense of space at the same time.

So, I have an extra medium hot latte. Who wants to drink it with me?