Snoozebucks

It all started with a tweet:

LenKendall: I knew it!!! Napping is better than coffee. Take that Starbucks. I'm going to open a Snoozebucks. http://twurl.nl/qf55dd

And with a little positive feedback I was inspired to write a new blog post:

@dylanorion: you do that, I'll be your most loyal customer. Hell, I'll never leave!

@AlexaFletcher: Sign me up...Haa..no really.

@juliepower: i'll take a super comfy, mega soft, hold the kids, snooze pod

@lana_berry: i would go...

@sevynn7s: so I've been looking for a partner at the shop it could easily be a coffee/nap shop, we've got plenty of couches.

@dan360man: you should talk to @cmegroup, too, about trading sleep futures

Although this blog is generally a forum for improving products, experiences, and brands, today I wanted to offer a fairly far-out idea that is unlikely to be taken seriously, but one that in my mind is a great concept for another company to capitalize on if Starbucks doesn’t.

It’s not a secret that Starbucks has been in a slump for the past year. Through September 2008 profit has dipped 97% and that number is expected to go higher. So how can this successful change revolutionize their business model and turn the earnings arrow in the upward direction?

Although Starbucks has started to venture into other in-store products such as snacks, music, gum, etc the focus of their business has always been selling a product that keeps people awake. While that spectrum of the market is a very profitable one, it’s completely neglecting the opposite side: people who are looking to get some sleep.

This isn’t a new idea by any means. It’s already happening on a micro luxurious level, especially overseas, but no one has taken this concept to a broader scale and branded the service of “offering naps” on a national level. Starbucks is already a place people go to relax and spend time (not including the heavy commuter shops). By simply renovating their larger shops to accommodate sleep pods they will be introducing a product on a national level which essentially doesn’t exist, but could very much be sought after.

The article which inspired this idea was one that stated that people, “who took a 2-hour afternoon nap did significantly better at repeating verbal, perception, and motor-skill tests from that morning than those given caffeine or a placebo.” Now obviously Starbucks wouldn’t want to tout the negative portion of the statistics that relate to caffeine consumption however they COULD create the feeling of necessity of sleeping. And in doing so would establish themselves as the go-to brand for catching some quick z’s.

So where would a test pilot of this program make sense? Easy. College campuses located in Urban areas. College students are prime candidates for testing this business model out as they have the luxury of longer blocks of time during the day. Back in my own college days I recall countless students sprawled out on couches in our student union, in the cafeteria, and yes even in Starbucks. They didn’t want to go back to their apartments so they used public facilities to sleep. The market is there, they just aren’t being served. There are college students who won't mind shelling out a few bucks to sleep on a bed instead of a park bench. I know, because I was once one of them.

If I had the money to invest, I would build this business out in a heartbeat. But I don’t...so Starbucks enjoy the free idea and hopefully I’ll be your first patron at Snoozebucks.