Alley Cafe Analysis

If u were Alley, what strategic plan are you going to develop?

Co-branding: educate customers on perfecting the true expresso through ethical and sustainable ways.

Ad Age: How do you market a 'discovery brand?'

Ms. Stotz: We could summarize what we do in marketing of Illy here in North America as active engagement. I've been here now for 12 years, and I can say that when you're a small brand, when you're really a high-end brand, you have to be very deliberate in the kinds of marketing that you do. We could do a lot of passive marketing or media, but what we believe is that, in order to really convert a consumer to drinking Illy, we need to actively engage them. They need to taste the coffee, try the coffee, and we need to talk to them a little bit and educate them about the coffee.

paper cup less operation & sourcing the finest 100%arabic bean coffee.

How have you seen the competitive landscape shift, with the emergence of cheaper espresso-based drinks from places such as McDonald's?

The baristas brewing Illy typically receive a week of training, Ms. Stotz says. And often, Master Barista Giorgio Milos, a charismatic Italian and longtime Illy employee, visits new accounts to teach them the art of brewing a perfect espresso. I can vouch for his training techniques: The Food Emporium employees, who clearly had no idea Illy's VP-marketing was in their midst, served up my second perfect cappuccino of the day.

It's great for the market, in general, because it democratizes the coffee experience and it gets more people thinking about espresso-based drinks. If you could consider a trade-up strategy, it would allow people to come in at an entry level, and as their taste gets more sophisticated there's an opportunity to continue trading up.

Capsule Expresso

Focus more on B2B

Illy-Up local coffe shops

And while more people are using Illy's espresso machines and pods at home, plenty are still looking to enjoy the brand away from home too. To showcase Illy's...