What business is Starbucks really in?

“We wanted to build a third place between home and work,” says Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz, as he sits in one of his cafés, “at a time in America when people are hungry for human connection.”

Watch the following video to learn how, from the beginning, Starbucks has positioned itself to be much more than just a seller of gourmet coffee. It has built its entire brand experience around a core positioning that offers “a sense of community” as much as coffee.

You can view the transcript for “Starbucks the Brand” (opens in new window).