I see a customer in tears, holding hands and offering a prayer. While Starbucks is a coffee shop that dads love, Dutch Bros is a favorite of my sister. Today, I'm reaching out from inside the car as I plan to use the drive-thru. I'm going to a location that isn’t available in New York—Dutch Bros. It’s the fourth largest snack category retail franchise in the U.S., following Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, and Dairy Queen. This coffee specialty shop operates solely through drive-thru services without indoor seating. They have a post-Starbucks-style drink menu, and another feature of their menu includes freshly made soda options. The prices seem to be similar to or even lower than those at Starbucks. Oh, to share the video? Absolutely, thank you! What size for that one? A big one? Large? 32 ounces? Okay, yes, right.

Do you want any flavoring in the coffee? Everything that we have here in blue is all our flavoring that we usually put in the coffee. We have Irish cream, vanilla, chocolate, and macadamia nut. Okay, just plain coffee? Absolutely. Anything else? Protein ice? One, absolutely. What size? Large? As large. Did you want any flavoring in that as well or just plain?

Currently, as of June 30th, there are 92 stores, but almost all of them are located in the Midwest and the West. There are hardly any in the East. This area is the southeastern region of Florida, where we opened in the first quarter, and I can explain that we recently opened additional locations in the second quarter.

Here on the right is the regular iced coffee, and this side is the protein coffee, which is only sold here. I will try both. The portion seems quite large, and I think this is a win. Personally, I feel that the basic iced coffee is tastier, but...

It’s hard to say that it’s better, but in my opinion, it has a very excellent coffee taste. In fact, it’s not easy for coffee flavors to be differentiated. Once you exceed a certain baseline, customers can be very satisfied. However, Dutch Bros' competitiveness is not actually about the coffee taste or the space. As you saw when I placed my order, the friendly and dedicated service is what stands out. That is the strength of Dutch Bros. Starbucks is evaluated as a café that sells space, while Dutch Bros is regarded as a café that sells intimacy. The photo you see on the screen is from 2016, featuring a chicken. In it, you can see an employee holding the hand of a drive-thru customer. When the employee saw the customer crying and asked what was wrong, the customer said that her husband had passed away the day before.

This is a scene where employees who were listening and working stopped to come out and pray for their granddaughter while she was sleeping. A customer in the car behind took a photo and posted it on Facebook, which became a hot topic. It symbolizes the closeness of Dutch Bros' relationship with its customers and is still a famous photo today. In January of this year, Nation's Restaurant News, a U.S. restaurant magazine, conducted a poll with 112,000 adults aged 18 and over, asking them to name the best restaurant chains. Dutch Bros was ranked third among the top ten. Considering that most of the other nine establishments were fine dining restaurants that primarily served steak and wine, we can gauge the level of friendliness at this drive-thru coffee shop. They maintain a good relationship with their customers and are approachable.

To provide a service with sincerity, employee satisfaction must be very high. This aspect can be seen as the key to maintaining Dutch Bros' competitiveness. Surprisingly, Dutch Bros' initial satisfaction is lower than that of Starbucks. According to a survey by the job information provider Indeed, in terms of salary, Starbucks ranks higher, while Dutch Bros receives high marks in various other categories, including work-life balance. Overall, Dutch Bros is evaluated as a better place to work. There is also a non-monetary form of compensation that is significant: tips. In fast food or takeout establishments, it is common not to leave tips. However, at Dutch Bros, a culture of tipping has become well established, where customers give tips in response to the friendly service they receive. This practice increases the company's profits as well as the earnings of its employees.

A culture of positive feedback is formed, providing customers with a friendly service. Dutch Bros was founded in 1992 by two brothers, Travis Boersma and Dane Boersma, in Oregon. They are from a family that immigrated from the Netherlands, hence the name Dutch Bros, reflecting their Dutch heritage. This family had been involved in dairy farming for three generations, but during the early 1990s, environmental regulations became stricter, making business difficult. Initially, the brothers started by pulling an espresso machine on a handcart and setting up a small stand to sell coffee. As they gained popularity in the local area, they opened their first store in 1994. Now, exactly 30 years later, their annual revenue has surpassed $900 million, which is equivalent to about 1 trillion won in our currency.

Dutch Bros has grown into a coffee enterprise, and the most notable aspect is its growth rate. Over the past five years since 2019, Dutch Bros has achieved an annual revenue growth of over 30% each year. In the coffee industry, even a double-digit increase in sales within the restaurant sector is considered very fast growth. Maintaining a growth rate exceeding 30% for several years is exceptionally rapid. This year, the projected revenue is around $1.23 billion, and if this trend continues, growth is expected to be about 26% to 27%. While this does not reach the 30% mark, it is still regarded as very fast growth. It is particularly surprising to see such rapid growth at a time when the beverage market is not performing exceptionally well. In the restaurant and food industry, the overall sales figures are crucial.

It's important to consider how much growth each store experiences. In the first and second quarters, Starbucks reported a 3% and 4% decrease in same-store sales. However, Dutch Bros showed a growth of 10% in the first quarter and 4% in the second quarter in same-store sales. According to a study by Place AI, the overall coffee industry saw a decline of about 2.7% over the past year, while Dutch Bros demonstrated a remarkable 10% growth. Their strategy focuses on building relationships and intimacy with customers, which has been effective for the past 30 years. Dutch Bros has a growth plan to increase the number of stores in the U.S. to 4,000 within the next 10 to 15 years. Even so, compared to Starbucks, which currently has 16,000 locations, and Dunkin' Donuts, their growth remains notable.

It is at a level of half. Even in 10 to 15 years, we still cannot catch up with them. However, this growth plan can also be seen as a deliberate pace adjustment. In a recent interview, the CEO of Dutch Bros stated, As we expand, we are cautious about growing too quickly or becoming too corporate. Our mission is to provide an attractive experience and to ensure our employees have the stage to deliver that experience. This shows that they prioritize maintaining core values over mere physical expansion. Therefore, the most important aspect of Dutch Bros' future growth will be whether they can maintain qualitative values while increasing their size. Conversely, it can be thought that there are endless possibilities for opening new locations. The coffee industry is often referred to as a battlefield, especially in New York and New Jersey.

And places like Chicago still exist. One media outlet evaluated that while Starbucks is a coffee shop that fathers like, Dutch Bros is a store that cool older sisters prefer. It is exciting to see whether Dutch Bros can create another coffee empire in competition with Starbucks, which has already established its own empire.

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