Never Decaf: Using Insights for Business Alignments
Caffeine -- between coffee, energy drinks, and soda, caffeine is the number one drug consumed daily on college campuses globally. Nearly 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine each day with coffee as the favored front-runner. For college students, coffee is an enticing drink that can provide an “energy boost” that they may feel they need. As a previous college student myself, there have been several late nights spent in the library where my body was strictly running on that caffeine high. Taking note of coffee’s popularity among college students and the mission of Never Decaf Coffee Company, I believe it is in our best interest to locate our company around the heart of Austin, Texas.
Austin, Texas is the third-largest city in the United States and the second most populated state capital. The city of Austin is routinely considered one of the best places to live and is home to over twenty colleges and universities including The University of Texas at Austin and Concordia University. Based on the Google Trends report conducted below, in the past five years in Texas, it is shown that the term “coffee shop” is most popularly searched in Austin, Texas. The data below also illustrates that the phrase “coffee near me” is also the most commonly searched query. Based on the data collected, it is clear that Never Decaf would benefit from establishing a new brand in the heart of Austin with thousands of college students to attend. The interest in coffee shops over the past five years illustrates the increased want and need for coffee within the state of Texas. Like many other businesses in the country, coffee shops were affected during the pandemic. The data indicates that there was a decrease in searches for the entirety of March but began to rise after the height of the pandemic passed.
As it is the plan to open ten locations within the next twelve months, I think it is in Never Decaf’s best interest to continue targeting college students and open an additional three locations in college towns in the surrounding states. Based on a separate Google Trends report conducted on neighboring states, the top two “caffeine-deprived” states include Oklahoma and Louisiana. Both states house several large universities within prominent tourist attractions such as Oklahoma City, OK, and New Orleans, LA.
Oklahoma
Louisiana
The students at The University of Oklahoma (OU) will be Never Decaf’s target market for the three new Oklahoma locations. Located in Norman, just twenty minutes outside of Oklahoma City, OU has an estimated university population of 21,000. The distance between Norman and Oklahoma City will be the hub for Never Decaf’s new locations. Establishing three locations in the distance between both cities will allow college students as well as tourists to visit the locations. Similarly to Oklahoma, Never Decaf’s three new Louisiana locations will be set in prime spots for college students and tourists to visit. New Orleans will be the hub for Never Decaf as it encases Tulane University as well as several other colleges such as The University of New Orleans and Dillard University. The combined undergraduate enrollment for universities in New Orleans is roughly 20,000 students coming from states nationwide. The benefit of opening locations around the following areas mentioned above allows Never Decaf to gain a reputation among college students who come from around the United States. The publicity generated from college students will allow us to target and formulate our plan for next year when we begin to establish 25 other locations.