Caribou Bumps The Brand Owner

Americans drink more coffee than any other country in the world.

So it's a big deal when the current brand owner (here's a little word association - coffee: ______ ) shows up as an also-ran. At least one reason Starbucks is closing stores and locking up for an afternoon of re-training is Caribou, a little company out of Minneapolis with stores in 16 states.

The atmosphere at every Caribou I've ever been to is great, and wi-fi is free, vs. a charge of about $4 for two hours at Starbucks, down from the old $10 rate. But those are the perks (ha!) - the core product is still the coffee right? While I've always thought Caribou's product was competitive, I'm no connoisseur, so take the results of the March Consumer Reports coffee survey. Caribou's Columbia Timana comes in second only to Eight O'Clock's 100% Columbian for flavor, and for you coffee-achievers, it's highest among the top four for caffeine content at 195 mg/cup. (Starbucks top brew comes in at #4, but that puts it in the "good" category, down a notch from the "very good.")

For the long haul, build your brand on a quality product and customer service (and a little caffeine helps too).

I've a feeling we're not in Seattle anymore...

Earlier this month McDonald's coffee gets a higher rating... now here's another interesting predicament for Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz getting too big as the chain passes 13,000 on their way to 40,000 stores.

Tell me again, is big the new small or is small the new big?

Coffee and IT in Detroit

IT professionals may have a tough time finding a Starbucks in the motor city, but a net 9% (12% add/3% reduce) of the CIO’s in Detroit with more than 100 employees expect to hire IT staff in Q4 according to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. This is up a net four points from Q3. Add this news to the thousand jobs being brought to the state by Google for a glimmer of hope through the impending clouds drifting from the auto industry.