McDonald's Premium Roast Coffee sells for less than half the price of Starbucks.
McDonald’s Japan is experiencing brisk sales of its “Premium Roast Coffee.” The coffee is made from South American beans, and packaged in a sleekly designed cup with a black lid.
The launch was prompted by research showed that while coffee had mainly been ordered as a side item for meals at McDonald’s, in recent years more customers have been coming to McDonald’s only for coffee. To launch the product, new standardized coffee machines were installed in all locations, to insure that consumers had the same taste experience at all shops.
Premium Roast Coffee went on sale in February 2008, for 100 yen, and the price was raised to 120 yen in August of that year. A short size coffee at Starbucks, by comparison, costs 290 yen. 160 million cups of McDonald’s Premium Roast Coffee were sold by the end of 2008.