Coffee’s 3 Jobs

Price is prominent but only part of a purchase.

Michael McFall, the co-founder of Biggby coffee, the third-largest coffee chain in the United States, knows this. He understands what’s really in a cup.

“During the Covid-19 restrictions,” he recalled, “the Michigan governor listed us as an essential business. We were. Getting a coffee was a little bit of normalcy in an abnormal world.”

That’s one.

Coffee shops are designed for work: tables, chairs, charging ports, and music. The wood tones are light. The lighting is bright. The vibes are good. It’s a “third place”.

That’s two.

And what is coffee? A roasted crop, ground into a fleck and given a hot shower. But it gives us a boost. We feel good! Coffee is energizing.

That’s three.

Biggby Coffee serves customers in these ways. If corn did the same thing we would have corn shops instead of coffee shops. But we don’t. It’s coffee that bundles routine, a place, and a jolt.

Every business is a bundle. Every future business bundles today’s unmet needs.

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