Ms. Kennedy’s food research and development team is charged with fulfilling the new motto printed on the sandwich wrappers: “Great Coffee Deserves Great Food.” That means food that suits the Starbucks psychographic: warm chocolate croissants, tarragon chicken salad, possibly even the return of quiche. It also means nodding to nutrition trends with items like cheese-and-fruit boxes and whole-grain pastries.
"Because of the coffee, our customers look to us for culinary challenges,” Mr. Barr said. “They want flavor, but they also expect a certain kind of thoughtfulness.” Although the Starbucks sandwiches are unmistakable McMuffin clones, re-engineered for the Starbucks demographic, “thoughtfulness” put Cheddar and fontina instead of American cheese on top of the egg. . . .
Upgrading the coffee was an easy fix for McDonald’s. But for Starbucks, the road to a complete breakfast has been longer — and more emotional. “Nothing is more disappointing to us than when a customer comes in and can’t find something to eat,” Mr. Barr said. “We are determined to serve food our coffee can be proud of.”
So, although Starbucks has only 5,700 United States stores to McDonald’s 13,800, the fight for the American breakfast is on. That stroll from Starbucks to McDonald’s has been targeted at both ends. Don Thompson said that McDonald’s has nothing to fear from the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches. “We’re back there cracking eggs and frying bacon,” he said. “There is nothing like hot, freshly cooked food, and our customers appreciate that.”
That said, I believe there's a third front to this battle that the reporter is missing, with 4400+ locations in 36 states (note: not all of them are in Southern New England), home of the pink-and-orange logo, and the donuts that require a good dunking . . .
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