Starbucks: Comparing the Market

One of the reasons for my excitement at living in China for a year was the relative cost of food and products. Living it large in China equates to living ordinarily back home. In the UK, how much would you expect to spend on a meal out with your friends: £20 to £15 a head?

The rising cost of eating out has led to a growth in the UK's coffee shop sector, as people turn to the local Nero as a meeting place, Starbucks as a study buddy, or Costa as a quick pick-me-up. This makes sense in the UK, where a the price of a meal dwarfs a petty latte. However, what has surprised me is that, unlike everything else, the price of a coffee in China does not convert. 

After a few days in Qingdao, I felt a small pang of nostalgia when I spied a Starbacks sign hidden in Sunshine Plaza. I recounted the times I had sat in the squishy Starbucks sofas, catching up with old friends, cradling a warm chai tea latte. Its familiarity drew me in, and I found myself inside ordering a 香草拿铁. When buying a cappuccino in Starbucks back home, you can expect to pay over £3. So I wasn't too surprised when the friendly man behind the counter asked me for Y33 (roughly £3.30); goaded on by my thirst for caffeine I parted with my money.

I collected my drink and turned to look for a sofa to nest in, but found only hard seats. It didn't particularly matter, as I was in a rush, and it was one of those annoyingly humid days where if I had sat on an armchair, I would have slid off it in a trail of my own perspiration. It appears that Starbucks' expansion strategy in China has been to shaft the sofas and comfy corners, occupy outlets with bigger floor space for longer tables with more seating. Instead of a casual meeting place, Starbucks in China has reformed itself as an actual meeting place. Starbucks is drawing in the market of young urban professionals who are happy to spend Y30 for the association with the brand. 

After I bought and consumed my 星巴克 (Chinese for Starbucks) did I realise how incredibly disproportionately priced coffee is to everything else in China. Below I am listing things one can buy for the price of a Starbucks (or less). (I will continue to update this list when I find more ridiculous comparisons.)

• As previously mentioned, two pet terrapins, coming in at Y30.

• A grocery shop, including; 4 peaches, 12 figs, 2 aubergines, 4 tomatoes, 7 peppers, 1kg of oats and 1kg of black rice, costing one Starbucks exactly.

• A pair of black culottes, Y30.

• 22 red bean buns from a 24hr convenience shop for Y33 (not that I've eaten 33 buns in one go)

• Two large crabs (for eating, not for pets this time) Y25

• A big bowl of tom-yum ramen, topped with fish, muscles, squid and king prawns, is only Y29

Just like in the UK, the coffee market in China is growing, but clearly for different reasons. Firstly, the prevalence of coffee culture in a Chinese city tends to imply it has a large foreign contingent. For example, Qingdao is abound with Korean coffee shops (where you can buy sweet potato latte, trust me, it's delicious) catering to the city's 200,000 strong Korean population. Secondly, coffee can exhibit one's wealth; wealth which Qingdao is by no means short of. Despite being only a second-tier city, Qingdao can boast numerous high performance car outlets (don't make me name car brands, you know it'll be embarrassing for both of us). Purchasing a cup of coffee insinuates a certain kind of lifestyle. A fusion of the above demonstrates the change that has been happening in China for the past 20 years; growing affluence and increasing contact with foreign cultures. Naturally this leads to a transformation of tastes, as coffee culture draws in ever more of China's young population.