Starbucks and Gopuff partner up to help feed the night-owls

Starbucks has been facing some new challenges especially with their stock prices going down 27% from its highs according to the Nasdaq.

• Starbuck’s solution is to partner with Gopuff (a quick commerce service for snacks) to try to get into the late-night coffee market.

Here’s how it works.

1. Starbucks-trained baristas will prepare your coffee and snacks fresh inside special Gopuff centers (like mini fulfillment centers).

2. These orders will then be delivered to your doorstep in ~30 minutes, all between the hours of 5 pm and 5 am.

This is a pilot program currently running in Philadelphia, with hopes to expand in the future.

Why the late-night focus?

Currently, only 2% of Starbucks sales come from delivery. The partnership with Gopuff wants to change that by targeting people who crave a caffeine fix after the usual business hours (5 pm - 5 am).

It's a different strategy since Starbucks was already a leader in mobile app ordering for food and beverages.

While the mobile app is still popular, with 31% of US transactions happening through it, the company identified areas for improvement, such as long wait times and product unavailability.