Traveling Companions
Insulated coffee mugs foster customer loyalty and keep brands on the go-go-go.
By Erin J. Shea, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, May 15, 2006
Status symbols used to exist mainly in the realm of fancy cars, designer jeans and deluxe vacation spots.
Not so anymore. In a culture where brand names confer personality, style and a sense of belonging, nearly everything is susceptible to branding.
“A travel mug is an image statement,” explains Launa Stiles, retail products manager for New World Restaurant Group, the Golden, Colo.-based parent of Einstein Bros. Bagels. “What people carry around with them is a reflection of their image and the quality of their lifestyle.”
Using travel mugs as a way to expand brand awareness is a marketing technique that has origins in the c-store segment. Taking the QSR travel mug to this next level will allow other segments to make tracks with the trend, Stiles says.
“There is so much going on within this retail space,” she adds, explaining that innovation can be seen in textures, lid styles, colors and different ergonomic designs.
“A travel mug needs to sell itself on the shelves,” she says. “Plain Janes will not move.”
In the five years since branded merchandise was added to its stores, Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts says its mugs have worked as “sidekicks” to their customers’ travels, companions to their already dedicated coffee consumption.
“For our customers coffee is not a status symbol but a way for them to function in the morning. Drinking it is ritual behavior,” says Laura Stanton, director of marketing for parent Dunkin’ Brands. “The branded cup is an extension of themselves.”
She adds that Dunkin’ Donuts is careful not to jump too quickly on passing fads or slogans for its mugs, preferring to use them only as marketing tie-ins when they suit the core audience.
“If we feel our customers will be comfortable carrying around a message as a personal statement then we’ll incorporate advertising into the mugs,” she says. “We only do that when appropriate.”
Einstein Bros. customers are image-conscious, says Stiles, which prompts the chain to redesign travel mugs so they reflect contemporary trends and attitudes. “We take a hard look at what’s going on in the market,” she says. “We look at the latest in color palettes and typefaces and see where we can add improved attributes to the mugs.”
Durability also is considered. “If customers have an issue with a mug leaking or spilling they’re passionate about telling us,” Stiles says. “With travel mugs you’re asking guests to share your brand with their circle of friends. If they don’t like a concept’s mug, they’ll tell everyone they know.”
Joe Cool
Premium coffee has been getting a new premium look.
As part of an ongoing effort to regain a foothold with coffee devotees who had shifted their attention, loyalty and dollars to segment-leader Starbucks, quick-service chains including McDonald’s, Burger King and Chick-fil-A have revamped their coffee blends to produce stronger, bolder, better cups of joe. And although they are not overtly looking to compete with the likes of Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Caribou Coffee, each of the food chains has introduced upscale, redesigned cups to complement new brews.
“The cup had to be appealing,” explains Mike Falkenberry, senior quality consultant for Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, whose coffee program dovetails its new breakfast thrust. “That’s where the real play comes in; we knew that we had to have cup graphics that communicated a coffee for all types of tastes.”
Gone from Chick-fil-A are plain foam and plastic cups adorned with just a company logo and flimsy cap. Today’s carryout containers incorporate heavy-grade materials and lids that fasten securely, helping to prevent drips. Those quality upgrades were matched with a new design.
“We needed to present a palette of colors and graphics on the cup,” explains Falkenberry of Chick-fil-A’s new cup design (l.). “We wanted to communicate the effort we put into our custom coffee blends and let others know that our customers were getting first-rate coffee.”
Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s, which recently began pouring robust “premium roast” coffee, matched the upgrade with a sleek-looking new cup. Its approach was simple—the foam cup the QSR long favored now is encased in heavy paper that contemporizes the presentation.
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