Starbucks turns to booze and food as it sets out plans to double food sales by 2019
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Version 0 of 1. Starbucks, the home of the caramel Frapuccino, now plans to bring you wine, beer and afternoon snacks. Having dropped the reference to coffee on its logo, the American chain is moving beyond its traditional breakfast menu- mostly pastries and lattes- to lunch and evening stacks as it seeks to double food sales over the next five years. At an investor conference on Thursday, Starbucks set out a target to double food revenue to more than $4 billion in the US alone by 2019 - with sales of beer and wine adding an estimated $1 billion in revenue. Mornings are the busiest part of the day for Starbucks, with traffic slowing down in the afternoons as people swap caffeine for a class of wine. Starbucks hopes its new strategy helps it secure both markets: coffee and hot drinks in the morning and alcoholic beverages in the evening. The chain is also going big on mobile and will allow customers to pay and collect their coffe ahead of time using the Starbucks mobile app. The company says the move cut waiting time in-store and give back customers the "gift of time". In select US areas, Starbucks also plans to offer delivery by late 2015, describing it as the "most demanded" service from customers. |