Going to the local?
Coffee has been a communications battle for well over a decade
now and the latest skirmishes demonstrate that the battle will
continue to evolve over the next ten years and beyond.
As big brands struggle against the public demand that producers
should be paid a fair rate for their magic caffeine-filled beans,
their response tactics cover the full spectrum of options: from the
full Fair Trade option to the unusually suspicious sounding
Rainforest Alliance badge, coffee brands are falling over
themselves to remind us how socially and environmentally conscious
they are.
One brand's introduction of an eco-refill plastic bag for
coffee is part of the same game - how it is more ecological to
package coffee in a non-biodegradable plastic bag rather than a
fully recyclable glass jar is however something of a mystery.
There is, of course, the do-nothing option, which is still favoured
by some of the biggest coffee brands in the world. How long they
can last out there remains to be seen.
It is not just on the supermarket shelves where this battle takes
place. On the high street one coffee shop chain has gone further
than many: Starbucks.
The former bête noir and favourite target of any
self-respecting anti-Globalisation protestor, Starbucks now revels
in the Fair Trade status of its coffee.
It also has plans to go even further, which suggests that this move
alone hasn't really done the trick for it.
Starbucks is trialing a complete
de-brandingin a select number of outlets in the US. A
similar tactic was trialed by Halfords to shed the undesirable
image its bicycle department had become saddled with.
Its
Cycle Republicoutlets were an attempt to tap into the
independent streak within the cycling fraternity. You can draw your
own conclusions for their short-lived existence and Halfords'
healthy profit announcement.
Both of these examples demonstrate that 21st century
consumers dislike brands which are too big to be cool. Since about
the early 1990s, the discourse of 'big brand = formulaic and
bad / small brand = local, different and interesting' has
really taken hold.
In a world where we are encouraged to define ourselves through what
we consume, the future must be local.
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