How BIGGBY® COFFEE Works to Compete With Its Giant Competitors
Posted on January 25, 2022
A Deeper Dive: Bob Fish, co-CEO and co-founder of the Michigan-based coffee chain, joins the podcast to discuss the company's strategy and whether customers will return to hanging out in shops again.
How does a small, Midwestern coffee chain compete with the big giants?
Bob Fish, the co-CEO and cofounder of Biggby Coffee, joins the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” this week to discuss the chain’s growth strategy.
Biggby is a 260-unit chain based in Lansing, Mich. The company has plans for some enormous growth in the near future after largely making it through the pandemic unscathed. It is doing this largely through a franchising model.
Fish talks about that growth. He also talks about the need to constantly change in a market where new trends come and go quickly. And he talks about the need for convenience—and why coffee chains could not survive on customers hanging out in cafes alone.
The coffee market overall continues to change and evolve, and more growth chains are staking their claim to a business dominated by Starbucks, Dunkin' and McDonald’s. It’s an interesting conversation with one of these players.
About BIGGBY Coffee
BIGGBY® COFFEE, East Lansing, Mich.-based, was started with a single store on March 15, 1995. One year later, and on the cusp of opening a second location, Bob Fish and Michael McFall, with a handshake and $4,000, decided to franchise the concept. BIGGBY® COFFEE’s cultural values of Make Friends, Have Fun, B Yourself, and Share Great Coffee help coffee-lovers and the coffee-curious alike benefit from a less pretentious and fun approach to the standard gourmet cafe paradigm. Besides connoisseur-worthy drinks with pronounceable names like Teddy Bear and Caramel Marvel, BIGGBY® baristas provide a unique experience focused on brightening their customers’ day and supporting them in building a life they love. The “Big ‘B’” on the orange background caught on, and today BIGGBY® COFFEE has more than 280 cafes across many states including Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Florida.