A few years ago, Starbucks began to face falling sales in its retail locations. The reason? Lack of coffee smell. According to CEO Howard Schultz, the whole "Starbucks Experience" had deteriorated due to the overpowering smell of breakfast sandwiches. Schultz understood that Starbucks was more than a mere place to get coffee...it was an experience. He felt the smell of the sandwiches destroyed the essence of Starbucks, which prided itself in having created the ultimate atmosphere for coffee lovers. Schultz decided the only thing to do was eliminate the sandwiches from the menu. Due to this, coffee sales once again soared.
Starbucks then looked to reformulate the sandwiches, so they wouldn't compete with the coffee. They began by using higher quality ingredients and baking them at lower temperatures. These two changes kept the scent of the sandwiches from overpowering the coffee smell in the store.. Now once again, the beautiful aroma of the coffee permeates the air at Starbucks locations!
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