The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Thu, 12 Dec 2024
The fastest-growing coffee chain in New York is Matto… because the $3 latte has a secret.The UnitedHealthcare CEO killer has been charged with murder… but it also revealed pent up frustration with healthcare.Louis Vuitton just acquired the Orient Express… because luxury trains are the new luxury shirts.Plus, toss away that gingerbread house - Charcuterie Chalets are what santa’s digging right now.$SBUX $LVMUY $UNHWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Nike’s Air Jordans 🏀 Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What is Matto Coffee's secret behind the $3 latte?
So we jumped in T-boy style. We went. What did you discover, Jack? First of all, I took CrossFit at 5.30 a.m. Humble brag. Yeah. You look great. 102nd Street on Upper East Side of Manhattan. I said you look great. On the way back. I stopped by Matel, and I confirmed it. Yeah. Everything on the menu is three bucks. 97th and Lex, a Yeti saw us, so we have an alibi. They saw us doing this.
The coffees, the lattes, the pastries, the cookies, even the protein power bar I needed because of my crossfit was just three bucks. Now we should point out there are up charges, right? Like they're not going to give you the whipped cream for free. If you add whipped cream and caramel drizzle on top of your latte, it's going to be $3.50 or maybe even $4.
Or if you don't order through the app, then things are $3.80. But otherwise, this is the cheapest cappuccino you can find in the city. And here's the news. Mato Coffee has 30 locations all in New York City right now. but they're pitching investors to finance a major expansion, maybe coming to a city near you. According to Bloomberg, they plan to 10X the number of locations, from 30 to 300.
Now, one question venture capitalists might ask is, how can you possibly profit off a $3 latte in the most expensive city in the country? After all, just this week, Arabica beans hit their all-time high price. Frappuccino, it's taken half your paycheck. The way that Matto can sell $3 lattes profitably is their extreme cost focus. Extreme cost focus. And here's how, besties.
Since customers order through the app, baristas can focus 100% of their attention on making macchiatos. Baristas aren't wasting their time standing, touching some touchscreen, or managing your credit card swipe, or telling you, hold your phone a little bit closer if you want to tap to pay. They get to spend all their time making coffees and serving pastries.
And each matzo location must be under 300 square feet. The one you visited, Jack, what was it like? It's like a walk-in closet. Yeah, you can't bring your laptop in because it won't fit in the store. Finally, they save money on the coffee itself. Yeah. They don't use 100% Arabica beans like Starbucks or Blue Bottle do. They blend expensive Arabica beans with lower-priced Robusta beans.
As Mocha Joe would say, it's all about the beans. And they use cheaper beans. They do. As a result, it wasn't the best coffee I've ever had. Yeah, that's a good point. But for a $3 latte that I can grab and go really quickly, I think a lot of customers are happy for that. In this economy, four-star coffee is okay than a five-star coffee.
I just need a decent to solid coffee that won't waste time standing in line. It's decent. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are scaling over at Mato Coffee? Mato Strength isn't a $3 coffee. Mato Strength is their clear message. We have covered a lot of coffee chains who are trying to disrupt Starbucks and Dunkin'. We've done it on this pod. Dutch Bros. Blank Street Coffee.
China's Luckin' Coffee is reportedly coming to the U.S. But only Mato has the clearest message we've ever seen as to why you should choose them. Here's the message. Everything is $3. The simplicity of that message is an unmistakably clear communication to every potential customer... Everything $3. Dollar stores thrived for decades thanks to a similar clear message. Yeah, good point.
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