Starbucks tried to position themselves as a premium product in the coffee industry bycreating a high standard, introducing innovative products and providing excellent service.Schultz knew how perishable coffee was and they were so fanatical about quality control,and hence they carefully monitored each and every step of coffee production. They boughtdark-roast, whole bean coffee from places like Sumatra, Kenya, Ethiopia and Costa Rica;roasted them in their own plants; and sold only through company-owned stores (refer casestudy). They used total quality management (TQM) in which all company’s people areconstantly involved in improving the quality of products (Kanji, 1996). Usage of nonfat milk and introduction of Frappuccino made a significant presence in the balance sheet of Starbucks. Moreover, they provided seasonal offerings, such as strawberry and creamFrappuccino in the summer and gingerbread latte in Christmas, were introduced. Graduallyfood items such as cookies, pastries, sandwiches and salads made their way into the stores(ibid.). Later they went on to develop new products with other companies. This shows howcautious Starbucks was to keep their standard high and maintain their premium qualityimage.