🌸Japanese Customer : Japanese Customer: Premium Roast Coffee sampling begins as new McDonald's coffee strategy rolls out in Japan

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February 22, 2008

Japanese Customer: Premium Roast Coffee sampling begins as new McDonald's coffee strategy rolls out in Japan

Further reading - Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia










Review By Japanese Customer.com

Copyright, 2008, All Rights Reserved





New tray mat explaining the new coffee strategy


Promotional flyer outlining the four free days for sampling

Front: Instore brochure


Inside: Instore brochure





Further reading - Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia











Review By Japanese Customer.com

Copyright, 2008, All Rights Reserved





The new McDonalds Premium Roast coffee strategy is rolling out. In Tokyo, yesterday consumers had the chance to try the new taste in one of four free sample days that have been planned for Tuesdays in February and March. According to the promotional flyer, Tuesday 2/19, 2/26, 3/4 and 3/11 between the hours of 14.00 - 24.00, customers can get a free cup of premium roast coffee by saying the key word when they approach the counter."Premium roast coffee kudasai".

We tried at our local store and staff were eagerly prepared and ready for our request. The coffee is served in the new look cup and has a new black plastic lid as reported in our post "McDonalds new coffee strategy Japan" The taste is certainly better than previous coffee and will change the perception of coffee from being weak to a stronger taste.

The strategy is an important step in gaining new customers and keeping them in store. Japanese customers are big coffee consumers and coffee shops play an important role in daily Japanese life as a meeting place for friends, mums and children after school, business men having meetings with local suppliers, sales people preparing presentations on their laptops, high school students doing homework and retirees catching up. The difference between western and Japanese daily life is that it in Japan is quite acceptable to sit and stay in store a long time which is great for business as the longer a customer stays the more chance they have of buying something else and attracting new customers who see a busy shop as being popular and successful.

The 100 yen price point is smart as it attracts a wide audience, keeps it simple with one coin, (a 100 yen) and does away with the extra charge other retailers tend to use, for example: 99 cent item plus 5 yen tax making the item 104 yen. This is messy and clumsy for retailers and consumers who have to rummage their pockets looking for one yen coins or wait at the cash register as store clerks slowly and carefully count out change.

Looks like a winner!

McDonalds Japan website currently has the new coffee offer on their front page of their website (February 20th 2008) Translate with Yahoo Babel fish

The following link is translated in English(not perfect but you can get the gist) and you can view the current television commercials.

Sources: McDonalds tray mat, letterbox flyer and instore coffee pamphlet (February 2008)
McDonalds Japan website, http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/February 20th 2008




Book - Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia










Review By Japanese Customer.com

Copyright, 2008, All Rights Reserved