Green Mountain Coffe

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorUniversity, Master's February 2008

download word file, 6 pages 3.0

Executive Summary Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc is growing right along side the fastest portion of the coffee industry, the high-end specialty coffee market. Green Mountain is a product leader in this category; they emphasize quality and enjoyment of their product. Green Mountain?s target market is no question wholesaler?s. Green Mountain has over 5,000 wholesale accounts that currently account for 94% of their revenue. In general this report is an overview of the company that is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, their industry, target markets, environmental influence?s, competition, and most importantly their strategy.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters began in 1981 as a small café in rural Vermont. Today the company boasts a 90,000 square feet distribution and roasting facility in Waterbury, Vermont, where the company is based. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a strong regional presence in the Northeast and is gaining market share in other parts of the country. It has an extensive wholesale operation as well as a direct mail and Internet business.

Green Mountain is a leader in the specialty coffee industry. The company roasts 60 varieties of high quality Arabica coffees including organic blends and flavored coffees that it sells under the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Brand name. The majority of their revenue comes from their wholesale operation, which services restaurants, supermarkets, specialty food stores, convenience stores, hotels, universities, airlines, and offices.

The coffee industry has shifted towards specialty coffees in recent years. Consumer education, wider availability, and the emergence of up scale coffee shops throughout the country have driven the demand for these specialty coffees that are higher priced than ?normal? coffees. According to the National Coffee Association, four out of five American consumers consider themselves coffee drinkers; on average an estimated 400 million cups of coffee are consumed in the U.S. each day. Specialty coffees...