What Does the Starbucks Breakfast Combo Return Mean for American Coffee Culture?

Starbucks has brought back its 19-yuan breakfast combo after more than a year off the menu, but only through delivery platforms and with a minimum-order threshold that prevents the combo from being delivered on its own. CEO Brian Niccol said the company needs to fundamentally change its operating approach, and North America has already canceled buy-one-get-one-free and half-price offers.

The combo began during the pandemic, pairing a main food item with freshly steamed milk, and became popular with office workers in first- and second-tier cities. Its quiet return, as an American coffee brand steps back from broad discounting, has stirred discussion on social platforms about delivery rules and pricing strategy in the China market.

Starbucks recently announced an adjustment to its pricing strategy, abandoning the low-price promotional approach it had previously pursued. CEO Brian Niccol explicitly stated the need to fundamentally change the company's operating approach, and the North American market has already taken the lead in canceling buy-one-get-one-free and half-price offers. Meanwhile, some consumers have noticed that the 19-yuan breakfast combo, which had been off the menu for over a year, has quietly reappeared on delivery platforms. This combo was originally created during the pandemic, pairing a main food item with a freshly steamed milk, and thanks to its high cost-performance ratio, it became popular among office workers in first- and second-tier cities, once jokingly dubbed the "poor man's set meal." However, this return is limited to delivery channels only, and a minimum-order threshold is set so that the combo cannot be delivered on its own—consumers must add extra items to place an order. This rule quickly sparked discussion on social platforms. This article will outline the background of Starbucks' pricing strategy adjustment, review the ins and outs of the 19-yuan breakfast combo, and present the diverse reactions of consumers to this return.

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Yesterday, the topic #StarbucksAbandonsPriceWar# appeared on Weibo's trending list, once again making the brand the focus of public discussion.

It is reported that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol recently publicly stated the need to "fundamentally change the strategy," and the first thing to be adjusted was precisely the "low-price policy" vigorously promoted by former CEO Laxman Narasimhan. In North America and other regions, Starbucks has completely halted promotional activities such as "buy one get one free" and "50% off."

Regarding outside questions about whether China would follow suit with price increases, yesterday a media outlet sought confirmation from Starbucks China. Customer service responded: "We have not yet received any related notice. At present, we will still randomly distribute coupons to user accounts through multiple channels, and in some user WeChat groups, we will also issue buy-one-get-one-free coupons or other types of coupons from time to time."

Just as the public was speculating about what countermeasures Starbucks China would take next, some users noticed that the brand's "19-yuan breakfast," which had been off the menu for more than a year, had quietly been relisted.

This breakfast combo was created during the pandemic. It was the "Full Star Breakfast" that Starbucks launched at the time to boost significantly declining revenue at stores across the country. Thanks to its relatively high cost-performance ratio, it won the favor of many office workers in first- and second-tier cities.

Each breakfast combo includes one main food item and one freshly steamed milk. Customers could either order the products separately or choose to upgrade the drink to Starbucks coffee for an additional charge. In addition, because the bring-your-own-cup service had already resumed at that time, consumers who used their own cups to order could also get a 4-yuan discount. In other words, at that time, this breakfast combo could be had for as little as 11 yuan.

Precisely because this combo was extremely affordable compared with other Starbucks products, it was also collectively dubbed the "poor man's set meal" by many office workers. However, in early last year, Starbucks officially removed this breakfast combo that had been sold for nearly three years. At that time, many office workers lamented on social platforms that "the happiness is gone."

But just yesterday, this Starbucks breakfast combo reappeared on delivery platforms, and the contents were consistent with the original, which surprised many breakfast lovers.

After learning the news that the "freebie had returned," some immediately opened the mobile app to verify whether it was true, confirming that "the Starbucks 19-yuan breakfast combo has returned" was indeed real, but the combo is currently only available on third-party delivery platforms (it has not yet been listed on the Feikuai channel), and it cannot be delivered as a single order. If you want to place an order, you also need to add a 10-yuan small cookie to meet the minimum, which led many consumers to exclaim that their wallets could not take it.

In response to this situation, many netizens in the comments section expressed their views: since it cannot be delivered as a single order, then they simply would not buy it. After all, coffee shops are blooming everywhere nowadays. If all they need is a breakfast combo with coffee, there are plenty of alternative brands near office districts, so there is really no need to be too attached to this one.

As for those office workers who truly watch every penny, Starbucks' breakfast combo at nearly 20 yuan is already enough to cover several days' worth of breakfast expenses, completely failing to meet their definition of a "poor man's standard," so they usually would not even consider it.

Image source: online screenshot

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.