Starbucks' $3.95 Value Meals To Roll Out

NEW YORK — Starbucks Corp., which is trying to refashion its image as a more recession-friendly coffeehouse, offered more details Monday on the breakfast "pairings" it will sell beginning March 3.

The gourmet coffee chain said it will introduce value-meal type options for $3.95 each in its U.S. company-owned stores. Customers can order a tall latte and an oatmeal or a slice of reduced-fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake. Drip coffee drinkers can get a tall brewed coffee with a breakfast sandwich at the same price.

Starbucks said it will also launch two new breakfast sandwiches _ a bacon sandwich with egg and gouda cheese and a ham sandwich made with egg and cheddar.

Regular prices for the drinks and food items vary depending on the location of the store but a tall latte and an oatmeal can cost as much as $5. Starbucks said the pairings will provide customers with an average savings of as much as $1.20.

Seattle-based Starbucks has struggled to keep its customers as the recession has deepened and has been promoting loyalty cards and other options to give customers more value without hurting its premium brand status.

The company first mentioned the pairings last month after it released fiscal first-quarter results that showed same-store sales _ or sales at stores open at least a year _ fell 10 percent in the U.S. The sales drop was the biggest yet for the company.

Starbucks also has had to make room for a new lower-priced competitor in the specialty-coffee industry since McDonald's Corp. introduced espresso-based coffee drinks in its U.S. stores.

Earlier Monday, McDonald's said its same-store sales in January jumped 7.1 percent worldwide and 5.4 percent in the U.S.

Starbucks shares rose 18 cents, or 1.7 percent, to end at $10.72.

Comments

[isis]

I just got the best oatmeal at Starbucks and it was only $2.60. Saved me from mega calories at the mall.

[mick7191]

Last gasp.

[magibrotherhood]

McStarbuck­s------nop­e,you can`t win me back---its OVER____

[sueno]

I've been with Starbucks since it began in Seattle-
But they always forget veggie-folks.
Can they also produce a sandwich, without meat?

[TimDanMick]

When I saw this I thought "at last" but even Starbucks ignore Vegs and the sizeable minority who find a choice between ham and bacon no choice at all.

[PoohPooh]

They have the worst coffee I have ever tasted $3.95 won't get me through the door.

[oakley9]

Ditto. very bitter and burnt.

[RIPRNC]

Viva Starbucks!!

Starbucks has contributed more to environmental and humanitarian efforts than than McDonalds ever will. McDonalds contribution? Obesity, heart disease, and pollution.

[mlaiuppa]

That's hardly a dollar menu. You can't even get coffee at Starbucks for a buck.

[NWBrunette]

Yummy! And full of all those great chemicals us Americans love, but couldn't pronounce if our life depended on it. Of course there's lots of corn syrup, and other goodies to mess around with your hormones. But its cheap so load up!

[adam hartung]

McDonald's is far from a "great company." But the company is positioned right for the biggest recession anyone alive can remember. It's taking advantage of that position - and in the process will likely crush Starbucks. When people are ready for a cozy chair and soft jazz with their coffee they won't want to stay with McDonald's. But very likely Starbucks will have killed itself by inviting head-on competition with "value meals" that allows McDonald's to crush them.

[carrieanna]

I'm a bit disappointed in their food ideas. I expected something a bit more creative.

[mphalen]

"Starbucks also has had to make room for a new lower-priced competitor in the specialty-coffee industry since McDonald's Corp. introduced espresso-based coffee drinks in its U.S. stores."

Now that is the way capitalism and competition should work. When your profits start to go down, that means people are not buying your products. So you find out what is not working and change it. Then you create new products consumers want and your sales will go up. Then the profits will go up. Look to your competitors and see what is and is not working for them and try to improve on it or offer a suitable alternative. Or in order to compete you may have to take less profits.

But when you cut labor costs to maximize profits eventually you will fail because there won't be anybody that can afford your products. And if more and more companies start to cut their labor costs to maximize profits, you will then have a ripple effect across the country and the job losses will accelerate. That is what is happening now. We lost over 2 million jobs in this country last year, 500,000 in the last month.

[PhilipTaylor]

Since when is a Vente Frap a LUNCH!

[teepeeyoyo]

Get a grip Starbucks, your business model WAS brilliant.­..lord knows I had my share of Venti Caramel Macchiatos, now the reality is that people's extra money will not go to you. Adjust your prices accordingly, or you will fail...it'­s simple.

[AZterritory]

If it's on a part with their coffee there are going to be a lot of Rolaids needed on the way to work.

[JBS]

Yeah, but will their new value meals include a cup of coffee that's fit to drink?