Starbucks: 87,000 Drink Combinations at MasterMaq's Blog

By Mack D. Male | December 18, 2006 at 9:27 pm

And you thought deciding between a Grande and a Venti was hard! In the December 18th issue of Time there is a really great article about Starbucks and the challenges it faces as it grows. Currently there are around 12,440 locations worldwide and the goal is to expand to 40,000 – more than even McDonald’s. Also included in accompanying graphics are some interesting stats, such as the number of drink combinations:

Historically, Starbucks has done a great job at balancing new ideas with efficiency, says Frances Frei, a professor at Harvard business school who has studied the company. A classic example: the way it trains us to order in Starbucks jargon, grande this and half-caff that. Serving tens of thousands of possible drink combinations would be an operational nightmare were it not for a regimented logic to ordering, a marketing flourish that helps establish the atmosphere of an Italian café.

I always chuckle when people walk into Starbucks and order a non-fat, extra-hot, double-shot, no-whip, blah blah blah kind of drink. Why do they even bother drinking the coffee? I had never really thought about these combinations from the perspective of Starbucks, however. When you consider the 87,000 possible combinations, it’s amazing that half of Starbucks locations average 3 minutes per customer (less than 60% do according to the article).

I’ll probably still chuckle when someone orders what sounds to me like an incredibly complex drink, but at least now I’ll know this: it could have been worse!

4 Responses to “Starbucks: 87,000 Drink Combinations”

Megan Says:
December 19th, 2006 at 8:23 am

87000! WHAT?!?!?! So many….

andymaniac Says:
December 19th, 2006 at 2:55 pm

I wasn’t so much thinking about the different combos of drinks Starbucks has but that they serve a person in 3 minutes, on average. Come to think about this, it is pretty true.

Coming from a city like Hong Kong where time is everything, 3 minutes is still too long BUT this is COFFEE..meant to be enjoyed AND based on North American standards (where it is very usual for me to stand for 8-10 minutes before being served at Safeway or even McDonald’s for that matter), I applaud all Starbucks employees They are always so friendly too…in other news…hey, I still like my Second Cup!

Mack D. Male Says:
December 19th, 2006 at 4:31 pm

There are a lot of really amazing things about Starbucks. They are truly a fascinating case study.

I think 3 minutes is too long if you’re just going for the drip coffee in the morning. I would like to know how the number breaks down (by type of drink, time of day, etc).

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