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Coffee Culture in Toronto’s City Core

Mahesha Jayaratne

Abstract: Authorship (Leschziner 2007). Looking at that creation


This research study attempts to examine the relationship of coffee culture, it is evident that there is independence
between coffee culture of franchised and independent between creators and branded based on images. In
coffee shops in downtown Toronto; particularly through independent coffee shops, creators aim to differentiate
their location in relation to one another, and to itself. themselves from other independent shops and franchised
We implemented literature from two sociological shops through individuality. Distinction between
scholars; Vania Lescgziner theory on the relationship competitor’s are significant to make claims over
between creators and their products, and Childress authorship and earn reputation (Leschziner 2007)
examination on bourgieusian field theory to help
interpret out data. Through this study it becomes evident Furthermore, Childress investigation on bourdieusian
that consumers prefer franchised coffee shops over field theory applies to our study on coffee culture.
independent coffee shops due to accessibility, Childress states, “Bourdieu conceives of actors within
recognition, affordability, stability, and inclusionary fields relationally, taking ‘positions’ and working to
practices. maximize their legitimacy within the space of possible”
(Childress: 2015: 367). Examining coffee culture, to
Key words: Coffee, Franchise, Independent, differentiate independent coffee shops from other
Toronto, Downtown independent and franchised coffee shops, they must
geographically disperse to claim space.
Introduction
Drinking a cup of coffee has become a normative Methods
practice within our daily lives. This increase demand for To analyze franchised and independent coffee culture
coffee influences a significant growth and expansion in and its concentration, we choose five franchise coffee
the business of cafes and coffee shops. Examining the shops and five independent coffee shops through
city of Toronto there is a clustering of franchised coffee random selection. We discarded repeated franchised
shops within the downtown region and a dispersion of businesses that were selected in our random draw, to
independent coffee shops around the peripheral areas of allow for an equal representation. Yelp became a serach
the city’s core. This article aims to examine the engine that help choose the best coffee shops within the
relationship between coffee culture of franchised and core of Toronto. The five selected franchise coffee shop
independent coffee shops in the city core of Toronto. include; Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Snakes and Lattes,
Through our study it became clear that consumers prefer Timothy’s Coffee, and Aroma Espresso Bar. The five
franchised coffee shops over independent coffee shops independently owned coffee shops include Sam James
due to accessibility, recognition, affordability, stability, Coffee Bar, The Coffee Lab, Himalayan Coffee House,
and inclusionary practices. Volta Espresso, and Buro 53. Our data was collected
through examining official websites, the three of
Background dominant social media platforms; Facebook, Instagram
Vanina Leschziner provides an insight on the and Twitter; and making appearances to the coffee shops
relationship between creators products and the who lack web resources and also to make observations
consequences of these relationships. Leschziner states, on the social atmosphere.
that creators are fundamentally bound to their products
through individualization, reputation is depicted as .
valuable capital and there is a significance over

Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Findings
Accessibility Stability
The city of Toronto is commonly associated with large Stability predicts which coffee shop is more likely to
crowds of people continuously commuting through be successful. Independently owned coffee shops lack
foot, walking from one destination to the other. The stability due to their higher level economic insecurity
central core of the city is the most occupied space for in comparison to franchised coffee shops. Independent
the business district and leisure activities. Since the businesses often are displaced once more established
main source of mobility is through foot, city planner businesses emerged, it becomes difficult to compete.
chose to have several franchised coffee shops close in For example, the Coffee Lab is changing locations
proximity, so consumers are able to have access to because they got evicted from their recent rented
their daily coffee. Franchised coffee shops offer free space. However, franchised coffee shops are less
access to Wi-Fi and operates in longer hours in likely to be displaced because they are more likely to
comparison to independent coffee shops. Several own their property because they have the capital to do
independent coffee shops in our study operated from so.
7am to 5:30pm. This makes franchised businesses
more attractive as their flexibility reaches a larger Inclusivity
audience than independent coffee shops. Franchise and independent coffee shops share
contrasting social worlds. Independently owned coffee
Recognition shops try to take on an innovative twist to differentiate
Marketing is a crucial step in building brand awareness themselves from other independent coffee shops and
and identity to businesses, which in return, will attract franchised coffee shops, often results to exclusionary
customers. Through our data franchise coffee shops practices by catering to a singular audience. For
displays a dominant social media presence within the instance, the coffee lab favors professors and
three major social media platforms; Twitter, Facebook academics. Comparably, franchised coffee shops cater
and Instagram through significantly large number of to a larger audience and promotes inclusionary
likes and followers. Dominant social media presence practices by marketing to all groups of people.
within franchised coffee shops makes them the "go-to"
choice to meet individuals coffee needs. Also, as a Conclusion and Recommendation
worldwide brand, clients trust and recognize the Our study assists readers to understand the relationship
standard that comes with the brand and expect the between franchised and independently own coffee
quality with their purchase. shops. Childress and Leschziner literature helps us
further understand how independent coffee shops tend
Affordability to differentiate themselves from other independent and
The pricing structure between franchised and franchised coffee shops through gaining reputation
independent coffee shops differs significantly. through individuality and taking control over space
Measuring affordability and variety through our data through certain geographic location. The reason why
we found that independent coffee shops have limited consumers favor franchised coffee shops over
options with a higher price. For instance, Tim Hortons independent coffee shops is due to accessibility,
serves coffee for $1.59, while Himalayan Coffee house recognition, affordability, stability, inclusiveness. This
cost $2.75. As franchised business have a larger research data was limited to the entire population
audience having a smaller price doesn’t affect their because we only studied 5 franchised and 5
profit scales. However, since independent business run independent coffee shops, for future research data
by a smaller selective audience, they depend on their should be collected from a larger sample.
high prices to accumulate a reasonable profit to keep
their business running.

Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada

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