The Context: Coffee is a highly saturated industry, yet the winner of the premium coffee subcategory has yet to proclaimed. There are 6 locations that serve nitro coffee in Boulder, including one location on CU’s campus. Elsewhere, nitro coffee has been known to be a trendy, refreshing summer drink that positions itself as the king of caffeine. In Boulder, however, only a third of students have even heard of the drink.
Students and Coffee: Students like their coffee a certain way and many of them will pay extra to have their coffee taste exactly how they like it. They are bound to their caffeine routines, except for when rare events like finals or an extra-long day of work or play falls into their lap. We found that the vast majority of students that were already consuming nitro were doing so for these types of special occasions. Through diving into what makes their days “extra-long,” we identified that people split their days into waves. Nitro is seen as a tool used to jump start to the “extra” wave of their day.
During those days where that second wave seems to never end, students find themselves wondering if they're even going to finish the bare minimum. We want to inspire students to conquer this wave, rather than get through it.
1. We changed the logo and created a pedi cab that serves nitro and takes students to class
2. We leveraged social media to spread awareness and generate engagement
3. We positioned ourselves as pioneers of technology
One of NitroKaffe's biggest points of differentiation is that it's distributed through vending machines (that of which are aimed to be located across college campuses). Moreover, businesses are just starting to incorporate Venmo into their transaction processes. Venmo is currently being experimented with via other mobile applications (Venmo In-App features) and at small boutique shops in places like San Fransisco. 60% of college students around the nation use the app, most of whom use it for their most important payments, like rent, utilities, beer, pizza, and uber. Businesses need to adapt to consumer behavior, not the other way around; they should be able to Venmo the vending machine and the pedi cab rider.