Why Startups that Don’t Innovate Lose their Edge and Other Things that the Coffee Industry has Taught Us

Have you ever thought about how just ten to fifteen years ago, the common opinion was that cold coffee was terrible?

Now everywhere you look, the opinion has changed. People love iced coffee. People love cold brew coffee.

Why did this change happen?

The answer is innovation and a little movement called “third wave coffee.” 
What is “Third Wave Coffee?”
Third Wave is a small but growing part of the world’s coffee culture.
Third wave focuses on the craft and quality of the farms, beans, roasts and brewing methods for coffee.

There is a great documentary on competitive barista-ing called, “Barista” and a beautiful documentary called “A Film About Coffee” if you’re interested in learning more about this niche coffee market.

What is Innovation? 
Innovation is the act or process of discovering new ideas, methods or products. 

A business won’t survive very long without innovation. Innovation is constantly happening and it is why new things like cold coffee appear in the market. Innovation is the reason why change happens, it is fueled by creativity and competition.

Without consistently new ideas, you’re just left with something old. Now, this cold coffee idea is not exactly a new concept. Just think about it. Grandma put the coffee pot on for grandpa and he forgot to drink it, so the next day, there’s cold coffee. Walah. Is your mind blown? No. Because that coffee doesn’t taste good. Sure, when grandpa drinks it, it puts a look on his face, but it’s not one of enjoyment. 

Innovation happened. 

New brew methods happened. Now people are brewing coffee for long periods of time with cold water as opposed to short periods of time with hot water. What a cold brew process does is it makes both the fruity coffee flavors and the bitter coffee flavors more intense. This is why it is so important to start with quality coffee beans/ blends and roasts. The outcome of this process depends on the exact type of cold brew method someone’s using, but without going into greater detail about coffee, this is an innovation of a process.

We’re here to discuss innovation and the element that I’d like to focus on is the process of services. Innovation isn’t always mind blowing. Innovation is a skill that takes training. Innovation is the element that sets a business a part from the rest.

Have you seen the shows “Chef’s Table” or “Chopped”? Chefs are always innovating. 

Many times chefs are asked to take one ingredient and prepare it 5 ways.
Think of asparagus 5 ways. Think of pork belly 5 ways. 

The next time life hands you lemons, try making lemons 5 ways.

Lemon tarts, lemonade, lemon meringue, lemon ice cream and Lemony Snicket. 

Life handed people coffee and people came up with a billion ways to make it. There are many foreign methods to making coffee. Some of my favorites include Turkish coffee, which is brewed in an Ibrik, Filter Kappi, an eastern brew method, and Espresso, an Italian brew method. Yes. Espresso is an Italian thing.

If you’re into posting Instagram or Facebook Stories here’s a little template to fill in and show off your love of coffee to your friends and family. 

My main point is this. If you don’t innovate, then you’ll not only be late, but you’ll never arrive. 

One method of innovation is trying to think of your product or service in different ways and in different markets. When a product or service encounters a new market audience it usually needs to change its process or its appearance. This is one of the best ways to inspire innovation.

I use coconut oil in my coffee and others use it for their skin. Someone had a plethora of coconuts and they had to figure out new markets for them.

What are a few of your favorite innovations of the last century? Why do you think that is? 

Let me know in a comment below. 
Thanks for reading!