High-quality Kona coffee makes an ideal pick-me-up

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 02, 2013

~~<p>Some years ago I had the opportunity to consult for a publicly traded firm in Japan. Their core business was a large chain that carried men's apparel, but they planned to establish a second business line focused on vitamin supplements and herbal remedies. Global Advisory Services was engaged to identify 10 "hit products" from the United States. Consensus was that the most important item would be "the energizer." While there are myriad items out there, coffee is still king and growing in Asia.</p>
<p>Starbucks, like no other company, kicked it up a notch. It now boasts more than 3,000 stores in China. Asia-Pacific sales at the end of the 2013 fiscal first quarter were $214.1 million, a 28.3 percent increase from last year. By 2014, Starbucks expects China to be its second-largest market.</p>
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Some years ago I had the opportunity to consult for a publicly traded firm in Japan. Their core business was a large chain that carried men's apparel, but they planned to establish a second business line focused on vitamin supplements and herbal remedies. Global Advisory Services was engaged to identify 10 "hit products" from the United States. Consensus was that the most important item would be "the energizer." While there are myriad items out there, coffee is still king and growing in Asia.

Starbucks, like no other company, kicked it up a notch. It now boasts more than 3,000 stores in China. Asia-Pacific sales at the end of the 2013 fiscal first quarter were $214.1 million, a 28.3 percent increase from last year. By 2014, Starbucks expects China to be its second-largest market. Login for more...