Direct Sales & Marketing Experts LJR Marketing took a keen interest in reports surfacing this week that Starbucks are planning to change the recipe of its coffee after sales of extra caffeine shots rocketed.

Manchester, Lancashire -- (SBWire) -- 03/21/2012 --According to The Telegraph “Starbucks is to increase the strength of its coffee throughout Britain as part of a multi-million pound overhaul and expansion of its European operations.” As a response to claims that their coffee is ‘weak and milky’, every customer will soon get two shots of espresso, rather than one, in an attempt to give the British public the ‘stronger coffee’ they desire.

LJR Marketing understands that the change in recipe is only part of Starbucks plans to compete more with UK rivals Costa Coffee and Café Nero, who have built their reputations on the back of stronger coffees. Starbucks also plans to open hundreds of new Cafes in Britain, as well as attempt to sell Starbucks drinks on trains and airplanes. The move, which would take their estate of 743 cafes to well over 1000 within the next five years, will be an attempt to compete more with their rivals. David Palmer, analyst at UBS in New York believes that “copycats front ran” Starbucks in the UK and that “it makes sense for them to [expand] across Europe. They are the originals, so why let someone else make business difficult for them?”

The move will mark the first time the Starbucks recipe has ever been changed, however will only apply to the UK cafes, leaving every other Starbucks across the world unaffected. Kris Engskov, Managing Director of Starbucks in the UK and Ireland, believes in the UK market: “Customers are becoming more experienced, more sophisticated and many more are looking for a stronger taste.” He hailed the introduction of a new recipe as “a big move and a big investment.” Lawrence Randall, Managing Director at LJR Marketing agrees with Engskov and commented: “I’m really impressed that a corporation as big as Starbucks would listen to the voices of the individual and tailor their products to meet the demand. I think it will prove to be a highly successful move.”

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks explained: “From 2008-2010 my primary focus, and that of the leadership, was to strengthen and fix the US business. We unfortunately were not able at the same time to focus on this region (the UK)” Having seemingly lost ground on their competition, LJR Marketing believe this latest move from Starbucks is long overdue. Kris Engskov believes: "The UK is the most competitive coffee market, more so even than the States” and so in the current UK economic climate it would appear that Starbucks is keen to make up for lost time.