# Needs Analysis

Northern Indiana Coffee Market — Types, Brands, Styles & Pricing
The Daily Pour | SnS Hospitality Group LLC | South Bend, Indiana
Prepared: August 2026 | Research basis: public menu data, local news coverage, and industry trend reporting current as of Aug 2026
Purpose: This analysis answers three questions for The Daily Pour's launch and pricing strategy — (1) what kinds of coffee/drink brands and styles already serve Northern Indiana, (2) where the high-traffic areas and gaps are, and (3) what a defensible low-to-high price ladder looks like so The Daily Pour is priced to compete without racing to the bottom.

## 1. Competitive Landscape — Who's Already Here

Northern Indiana's coffee market (St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, LaPorte counties) has four distinct competitor tiers. Each behaves differently and requires a different response.

### Tier 1 — National Drive-Thru Coffee Chains (fastest-growing, most direct competitor)

Brand | Style | Local presence | Why it matters
--- | --- | --- | ---
7 Brew | Drive-thru only, double-lane, "stand" format (~600 sq ft, no seating) | Opened in Mishawaka (5540 N Main St, former Windy City Gyros site) and La Porte; more Indiana sites announced 2026 including Fort Wayne | Nearly identical footprint/format to a trailer. Fast, friendly, huge menu (2,000+ combos), aggressive expansion backed by Blackstone capital.
Dutch Bros | Drive-thru "shack" + walk-up window, high-energy brand, Rebel energy drinks | Expanding into Northern/NW Indiana (Valparaiso, Warsaw); not yet in South Bend/Mishawaka core | $2.1M average unit volume nationally — proof the drive-thru-only model works at scale in Indiana-adjacent markets. Likely to target South Bend/Elkhart next as it fills in the region.
Scooter's Coffee | Drive-thru kiosk, franchise-heavy, seasonal/limited-time drink drops | Distribution center built near Indianapolis to support Indiana growth | Same small-footprint kiosk model; pricing sits at the premium end (see Sec. 3).
Starbucks | Brick-and-mortar + drive-thru, full café | Multiple South Bend locations (downtown, Ireland Rd, South Bend Ave) | Sets the "premium anchor" price point area customers already accept.
Dunkin' | Brick-and-mortar + drive-thru, donuts + coffee | Multiple locations South Bend/Mishawaka (incl. Lincolnway E) | Sets the "value" anchor price point — the number customers compare everything against.

### Tier 2 — Regional Chains

Brand | Style | Local presence
--- | --- | ---
Caribou Coffee | Café + drive-thru, in-store at Martin's Super Markets | Mishawaka (Ironwood Dr / Martin's)
Biggby Coffee | Michigan-based café chain, drive-thru, sweet/flavored drinks, "creme freeze" smoothies | Mishawaka (McKinley Ave) and other Michiana locations

### Tier 3 — Independent Local Coffee Shops (sit-down cafe model — not direct drive-thru competitors, but shape local taste)

Shop | Notes
--- | ---
Chicory Cafe | South Bend + Mishawaka; Mishawaka location has a drive-thru — closest thing to a local drive-thru competitor
Bendix Coffee Roasters | South Bend micro-roaster; now also roasts the legacy Toccoa Coffee brand (Mishawaka). This is the region's dominant local bean supplier and already The Daily Pour's planned roaster — a strength, not a threat
Coffee Pantry | Elkhart — cozy sit-down cafe, light snacks
Coffee Spot Café, Sunrise Cafe, Le Peep | Breakfast-diner style with coffee as a side item, not a specialty program

### Tier 4 — Convenience / Gas Station Coffee

Self-serve pot coffee at gas stations and grocery stores. Lowest price, lowest quality, no brand loyalty — this is the segment The Daily Pour's business plan already correctly targets as "easy to beat on quality" rather than price.

Bottom line: The direct competitive threat isn't Starbucks or Dunkin' — it's the national drive-thru stand format (7 Brew, Dutch Bros, Scooter's). They use the exact same footprint and speed advantage The Daily Pour is built around, and they are actively expanding into Northern Indiana right now (2025–2026). The Daily Pour's win conditions against them: local roaster story, lower price point at the low end of the ladder, and mobility into locations too small or too temporary for a permanent kiosk to bother with.

## 2. High-Traffic Areas & Location Gaps in Northern Indiana

### Confirmed high-traffic corridors (St. Joseph / Elkhart counties)

- Grape Road (Mishawaka) — the region's primary retail corridor (University Park Mall, big-box retail); widened by the city specifically for traffic volume. Already has Biggby, Caribou (via Martin's), and now 7 Brew — competitive but proven high-volume.
- Lincolnway East/West (Mishawaka/South Bend) — dense retail/restaurant strip with existing Dunkin'; steady commuter and retail traffic.
- US-31 corridor (South Bend to Indianapolis) — INDOT has invested heavily in this corridor (down to 6 traffic signals over 150 miles), meaning consistent, fast-moving commuter volume through South Bend's south side.
- Ireland Road / South Bend Ave — already home to multiple Starbucks locations, confirming the traffic is there, but the format is brick-and-mortar (a mobile trailer can undercut on price in the same traffic shed).
- Notre Dame perimeter — 80,000+ game-day attendance, 6–7 home games/year, plus 12,000+ enrolled students year-round. Confirmed underserved on game days per Bendix Coffee's own local guide (recommends arriving early because options fill up).
- Industrial/warehouse parks (South Bend, Elkhart) — Elkhart County is one of the highest RV-manufacturing-employment concentrations in the country (Forest River, Thor, Keystone, Jayco); 5am/3pm shift changes are a large, currently uncaptured captive audience with almost no specialty coffee presence in Elkhart itself (Coffee Pantry is sit-down only).

### Gap analysis — where competitors are NOT yet dense

Area | Current coverage | Opportunity for The Daily Pour
--- | --- | ---
Elkhart / Goshen industrial corridor | Sparse — mostly gas-station and diner coffee; no drive-thru specialty brand confirmed | High — RV manufacturing shift-change traffic, no chain has claimed it yet
South Bend south side / Ireland Rd retail | Starbucks (brick-and-mortar) only | Medium-high — undercut price, same traffic, mobile flexibility
Notre Dame perimeter (non-game-day) | Campus dining + a few independents | Medium — steady student/staff traffic, seasonal (academic calendar)
Mishawaka Grape Road | Saturated (Biggby, Caribou, 7 Brew incoming) | Low — avoid as a first location; too much drive-thru chain density already
Vacant/underutilized commercial lots (per business plan) | None — that's the point | High — zero coffee competition, low rent, matches the trailer's mobility advantage

Watch item: 7 Brew and Dutch Bros are both expanding into Northern Indiana on an active, ongoing basis (new sites announced through 2026). Before committing to a location, check whether a national chain has already filed site plans nearby — Mishawaka's planning commission approvals are public record and searchable.

## 3. Price Ladder — Low to High, Benchmarked Against Local Competitors

Pricing across every format (national chain, regional chain, independent) converges on the same three tiers by drink size/complexity. The table below benchmarks real observed prices (2025–2026, standard hot latte/espresso drink as the comparison item) so The Daily Pour's menu can be placed deliberately rather than guessed.

Tier | Brand examples | Small | Medium | Large | Positioning
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Low / Value | Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, Dunkin' | $3.00–$4.00 | $3.75–$4.75 | $4.50–$5.75 | Speed + volume; simple syrup-based drinks priced to move a line fast
Mid | Caribou, Biggby, Chicory Cafe, independent shops | $3.50–$4.25 | $4.25–$5.00 | $5.00–$5.75 | "Neighborhood quality" — better beans, still fast, local loyalty
Premium | Starbucks, Scooter's specialty/limited-time drinks | $4.45–$5.55 | $4.95–$6.50+ | $5.75–$7.95+ | Brand cachet, seasonal/limited drinks, highest-margin add-ons

### Recommended Daily Pour price ladder

The business plan's $8 average ticket target already lands correctly in the mid-tier — this analysis confirms that target and breaks it into a defensible ladder rather than one flat price:

Category | Price range | Rationale
--- | --- | ---
Drip coffee / hot tea | $3.00 – $4.00 | Matches Dunkin'/value tier — the "everyday driver" that builds repeat visits and beats gas-station coffee on quality at a near-identical price
Standard espresso drinks (latte, americano, cappuccino, cold brew) | $4.25 – $5.50 | Sits at the low end of Starbucks and matches Caribou/Biggby — undercuts the premium anchor while still reading as "quality," using the Bendix local-roaster story to justify the price vs. Dunkin'
Specialty/signature drinks (seasonal, flavored, matcha, frappes) | $5.50 – $6.75 | Priced just under Starbucks Frappuccino/Scooter's limited-time tier ($6.55–$7.95) — high margin, gives customers a "treat" option without matching premium-chain prices
Food add-ons (pastries, bagels, cookies) | $2.50 – $4.50 | Matches local bakery/cafe norms; kept simple since food is a margin-add, not the core product

Why not go lower (race to the bottom with 7 Brew/Dutch Bros)? Those chains win on volume and venture-backed real estate, not margin per cup — The Daily Pour's plan is built on a single trailer needing ~51 customers/day to break even, not thousands across a franchise network. Competing purely on price would erase the 49% margin the business plan depends on. The local-roaster (Bendix) story and mobility into zero-competition lots are the actual moat — pricing should protect margin, not chase the chains down.
Why not go higher (match Starbucks/Scooter's top end)? The Daily Pour has no brand recognition yet and no seating/atmosphere to sell — customers won't pay premium-chain prices for an unfamiliar trailer. Landing at the top of "mid-tier" (just under Starbucks, just above Dunkin') gives room to raise specialty-drink prices later once the brand is established, without alienating the morning-commuter core customer the business plan already targets.

## 4. Types & Styles to Offer — What the Market Is Already Trained to Expect

### Table stakes (every competitor tier offers these — must-have, not a differentiator)

- Espresso drinks: latte, cappuccino, americano, macchiato, mocha
- Drip coffee (regular + decaf)
- Iced coffee & cold brew
- Hot/iced tea, chai
- Flavored syrups (caramel, vanilla, seasonal)

### Differentiators seen at the chain level worth adapting in scaled-down form

- Matcha lattes — already on the business plan's menu; correctly positioned, keep it.
- Frappes/blended drinks — high-margin, matches Starbucks Frappuccino/Scooter's blended tier; already planned.
- Energy/"Rebel"-style drinks (Dutch Bros Rebel, Scooter's Red Bull infusions) — a fast-growing category nationally. Not currently on The Daily Pour's menu; worth a low-risk pilot (one SKU) since it captures the industrial-shift-worker and college-student segments the business plan already targets.
- Functional/wellness coffee (protein add-ins, oat milk, adaptogen/mushroom blends) — a genuine 2025–2026 national trend (per CNBC/Circana beverage reporting), but unproven locally in Northern Indiana. Recommend a low-cost test: offer oat milk as a standard alt-milk option (near-universal expectation now) and hold off on mushroom/adaptogen add-ins until demand is validated — that's a bigger inventory/SKU commitment than the trailer's lean model should take on at launch.

### Local sourcing angle (competitive advantage, not a cost)

Bendix Coffee Roasters (South Bend) is both the region's most visible independent coffee brand and The Daily Pour's already-planned bean supplier. No other drive-thru chain in the market (7 Brew, Dutch Bros, Scooter's, Dunkin', Starbucks) can claim a South Bend-roasted bean. This is the single strongest, lowest-cost differentiator available and should be printed on the menu board and cup — it directly supports charging mid-tier prices instead of value-tier prices.

## 5. Summary & Recommendations

1. Price ladder: $3.00–$4.00 drip, $4.25–$5.50 espresso drinks, $5.50–$6.75 specialty drinks, $2.50–$4.50 food. This lands mid-tier — above Dunkin'/7 Brew/Dutch Bros, below Starbucks/Scooter's — and supports the $8 average-ticket target already in the business plan.
2. First-location priority: Elkhart/Goshen industrial corridor or South Bend south-side retail (Ireland Rd area) over Mishawaka's Grape Road, which is already saturated with drive-thru chains.
3. Watch the chains: 7 Brew and Dutch Bros are actively opening new Northern Indiana sites through 2026 — check Mishawaka/South Bend/Elkhart planning commission filings before finalizing a lot.
4. Menu: Keep the current core menu (it already matches market expectations); add oat milk as a standard option; pilot one energy/"rebel"-style drink; hold off on mushroom/adaptogen add-ins until proven local demand.
5. Lead with the Bendix Coffee Roasters story on all signage/menu boards — it is the one advantage no national or regional chain in the market can replicate.