Market Positioning: Coffee’s Place in Your Daily Life

Anyone Can Be A Coffee Person, It Just Takes the Right Cup

Whether it’s in Italy, El Salvador, or the USA, the world loves their coffee. If you ask a coffee lover how they take their morning cup of coffee, they’ll respond with pride. Certain flavors or additives seemingly have a cult following. You know what I mean. The moment the leaves begin to turn a bit orange, the coffee chains, local coffee shops and the grocery stores stock the fall and winter flavors like pumpkin spice, cinnamon roll and peppermint mocha. 

Can You Smell This Picture?

What do you think of when you smell coffee? I have a very clear picture of the coffee shop in my university’s library. When I opened those doors, I’d get a gust of an amazingly rich aroma of coffee. Therefore, coffee makes me think of studying, working, and overall productivity. As I write this, there is a cup of coffee right next to me. 

Figuratively speaking, what does coffee smell like for you? Does it smell like your morning commute to work? Does coffee take you to a quaint coffee shop where you enter your own world of work for hours upon end? Does coffee smell like a morning treat before you start your day? Perhaps you drink coffee in the quiet morning before anyone else in your family rises or perhaps it is a moment in between the morning shuffle. 

Price, Market Positioning and Social Media

Coffee is so much more than hot or cold liquid with a delicious array of hues. So how is it that there is a hierarchy of coffee companies? The answer is in market positioning. Market positioning is a marketing strategy where you establish your image so that customers and potential customers perceive it a certain way. The higher price chains and the local family-owned location position their products through an array of factors. The amalgamation of the origin of their ingredients, the sustainability of their logistics process and their recycling practices can influence the monetary value of their goods and the price that people are willing to pay.

Marketers are selling coffee, sure, but they are also selling the idea of status and popularity. The little green mermaid is an icon and one of the most recognizable logos in the world. The local coffee shop, regardless of price, is selling yummy coffee and the idea that you are unique, and that you know a well-guarded secret. If you buy local, you get extra cool points for supporting local businesses and for having refined, purist taste. The pink and orange brand that apparently fuels America made an impressive financial comeback through social media marketing. If you drink from a plastic cup and bright pink straw, you are part of the kids who saw this on TikTok with some of the most followed TikTok stars and truly, enjoy a very sweet coffee. Or take my parents and the baby-boomers that have drank the same coffee their whole lives that is the best part of waking up and has a catchy song. Their favorite coffee brand reflects the values of their generation, nothing too crazy, just a dark, simple, delicious cup of coffee. 

What Does Your Coffee Say About You?

No matter what potential scandal, people are willing to pay money for a drink with a complicated name for the taste, sure, but just as importantly, if not more, for the message it sends. So what does your coffee say about you? Are you looped into the marketing that goes on behind the scenes of your favorite coffee or coffee maker? Don’t get me started on the extra cool points you get for pressing or making your own coffee at home with reusable cups or mugs.