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Published on March 22, 2008

With strong coffee passion as well as expertise in coffee-making, such a move is expected to win back customer satisfaction, Sumompin Chotipukkana, marketing and communications director of Starbucks Coffee Thailand, said yesterday.

This is a part of the US-based leading coffee house's global strategic plan after chairman Howard Schultz announced recently that he was taking back the role of chief executive of the struggling chain. His return was in response to its stock falling 50 per cent over the past year.

Starbucks is now shifting its focus back to customer-facing initiatives as well as better alignment of back-end costs, Schultz said.

With 100 cafes located across Thailand, the local office is executing the head company's main policy in line with other stores around the world. Starbucks will show its coffee expertise with a combination of gourmet arabica coffee beans, the coffee passion of its baristas and fair trade with coffee growers.

This strategy will help Starbucks differentiate itself from rivals and stay on top of the world's leading premium coffee stores. The company targets growth of 17 per cent this year.

"It's actually not a new marketing campaign. It has been with us since the opening of Starbucks, but it may not have been clear over the past years. That's why we want to focus on our strong skills. Customers should be satisfied with what they pay for," Sumompin said.

Baristas will be responsible for making coffee and having customers taste it. This will likely be another marketing channel the company can use to communicate directly with customers, he said.

The coffee tasters will then become opinion leaders who can pass on their experiences to potential customers.

The baristas will also instruct customers on how to make good coffee at home, he added.

The Nation