Good Idea! Now find a better one.

Starbucks means quality coffee. Not sandwiches. Not 99 cent bargain coffee. Not even music. It means coffee. I know this and I don’t even drink coffee.

So when Starbucks is faced with the inevitable, the slowing of its stellar growth, what’s the solution? Some say expand into other areas, widen the focus. Laura Ries gives a great analysis on how Starbucks is now backtracking to its roots, coffee, to drive it into the future.

The three hour shutdown of Starbucks for barista reeducation is indicative of renewed focus. Of doing what they do best: coffee.

But what about those breakfast sandwiches, cakes and the like? These things complement coffee. Many do enjoy eating something with their beverage.

Is it possible to satisfy this need while not distracting from Starbucks’ focus?

It is if you let someone else do it. Just as focus is valuable for coffee, focus is valuable for foods that complement coffee. There are others out there who make great foods that would make a cup of joe that much sweeter.

While Dunkin Donuts is hawking sugar covered donuts, Starbucks could be partnering with chefs in every city to create pastry and breakfast counters inside Starbucks locations. Not to provide the same fare in every location like a Dunkin wannabe, but to capture the local flavor of each region.

The partner would handle inventory, storage and food preparation in space reserved for them on site. The Starbucks baristas focus on coffee - no more warming egg sandwiches. The partner focuses on creating quality foods that complement Starbucks coffee. And the partner operates under their own name, their own brand, not Starbucks. You can get it at Starbucks but it’s not Starbucks food.

Starbucks takes a share of the profits that each partner generates, reaping the benefits of the relationship without moving from their focus. They introduce more local flavor to each location. They provide more inducement for people to meet, congregate and conduct business at Starbucks and if a partner isn’t performing, pull it from the location and find someone new.

From Starbucks’ perspective, the partnerships simply bring people into their locations to buy coffee.

Adding sandwiches to a coffee shop can increase the bottom line, but not if it undermines the reason people come in the first place. Don’t expand your focus, find or create partners with a complementary focus.

P.S. To really make it interesting, pay 100% of Starbucks’ cut of the food partner’s profits to the location’s employees for every purchase that involves food and coffee. Encourage the team to find food partners who bring people in for coffee. The more coffee that moves, the better for Starbucks. Focus.