Seattle's Best Coffee, A Division of Starbucks, Casts Itself As David with Great Stories

On a recent trip to Seattle, I was interested to see a number of Seattle's Best Coffee locations sprinkled throughout the downtown. Being typical Portlanders who like supporting small business over the big chains, my wife and I thought it would be interesting to try a Starbucks competitor in the coffee giant's own backyard.

We liked the coffee at Seattle's Best Coffee, and I was convinced that it tasted better than Starbucks. I particularly admired how the company told its story on the side of its carry-out cups.  Like many, I connect to businesses that have a compelling story. In fact, I liked the Seattle's Best Coffee story so much that I saved the cup. Here's what its says: "Our Name Is Our Promise - It all begin in 1970 on the Seattle waterfront with a desire to create a smoother cup of coffee and an old peanut roaster. We roasted lots of coffee and finally pioneered a roasting style that used subtle timing and temperature adjustments to create our signature smoother, more flavorful coffee. It's how we became Seattle's Best." The other cup tells the story about why the company's signature espresso roast, Henry's Blend, was named after a cat that used to hang out on the company's loading dock.

So many businesses fail to leverage their histories to create a deeper relationship with customers. Seattle's Best Coffee got me so interested in its story that I logged onto its website when I returned home. Much to my surprise, after reading some great stories about Seattle's Best Coffee, I learned from a press release on their site that the company was sold to Starbucks in July 2003.

I wonder how many people know that the real owner of Seattle's Best Coffee is Starbucks. In contrast, there are likely thousands who sip their daily latte at Seattle's Best Coffee thinking that they are supporting David vs. Goliath because the company does such a great job telling the history from when it was the scrappy little competitor. Are you fully leveraging the power of your company's story?

Comments

[Serena Davidson]

Patrick! This is such a good point. I grew up in the Seattle area and was tromping around Vashon Island in my Doc Martens as a teen back when Seattles Best Coffee was independant and - if memory serves - roasted on the Island. In later years, while living on Capital Hill, above downtown Seattle, my friends from Vashon told me of the Starbucks buyout. I had still been going to their Pike Place location on Post Alley until I heard that. They did such a good job of keeping it quiet and keeping the same face as the original business, that even a long time local customer like me didn't know.

I would love to hear more about how to start from scratch in choosing what to use from ones expansive history for a great story.
Here is a link to my own current effort. Feel free to use it as an example if you like.
http://serenadavidson.com/about.html

Insider tip for your next visit to Seattle:
Victrola on 15th Avenue
http://www.victrolacoffee.com/news.html
I was delighted when they opened in my neighborhood - what must be 5 years ago. They had instant success and are now becoming somewhat of a legend in my opinion. I've seen local Portland baristas and coffe shop owners wearing their T-shirts here as if they were a favorite rock band. Mine is in red and I love wearing it.