In 1966, disappointed by the poor quality of coffee in the United States, Dutch entrepreneur Alfred Peet opened a specialty coffee shop in Berkeley, California.
This was at a time when most Americans were drinking coffee brewed from beans freeze-dried in a can.
His introduction of specialty grade coffee to the general public proved to be so successful that during subsequent years Peet was often encouraged to expand his business, an idea he rejected time and time again because he wanted to personally supervise the quality of his coffee.
Alfred Peet acted as a mentor to a number of coffee enthusiasts, including Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the founders of Starbucks, or George Howell, the founder of The Coffee Connection and the man credited with the invention of the frappucino.
From a marketing perspective, Afred Peet’s story is quite fascinating.
Peet’s business had all the right ingredients for massive success: an original high-quality product, an ever increasing demand for that product, and even influence on coffee and food culture itself — specialty food, health food, and other avant-garde restaurants opened around Peet’s initial location.
A lot of coffee entrepreneurs got into business simply because of their experience at Peet’s specialty coffee shop.
Yet, why didn’t the Dutch entrepreneur take advantage of the tremendous potential of his idea?
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