27 Mar INTRODUCING BIZCAFE v5: NEW FEATURES AND UPDATES

Posted at 07:54h in Management post, Product Update by

Explore What’s New in BizCafe v5

Available for limited release in Summer 2026 & Full release in Fall 2026

We’re excited to share the latest updates to BizCafe!
BizCafe v5 includes new sustainability elements, improved user experience, new scenarios, and miscellaneous changes. You can preview the updates in the BizCafe sample course site using your Faculty Access.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our support team.
Explore the latest BizCafe v5 updates
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New Sustainability Elements

In addition to the existing Green Upgrade incident, BizCafe v5 adds four more sustainability-focused incidents that bring new decisions around waste, energy use, and sourcing into the simulation:

  • Solid Waste Management
  • Sandwiches
  • Community Solar
  • Energy Efficiency

BizCafe can now track additional sustainability metrics:

  • Carbon Footprint
  • Landfill Waste
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Community Reputation

New fair-trade coffee quality options, changing Good, High, and Organic options to:

  • Good
  • Fair-Trade
  • Organic
  • Fair-Trade Organic

Improved Student Experience

  • Updated Dashboard: More metrics can be displayed, and a graph on each metric’s tile gives a sense of how the metric has changed over time. Metric details now include tabular data in addition to the metric definition and graph.
  • Espresso maker flexibility: Students may now exchange the espresso maker for a different model after the start period for a fee. This is useful if students miss the start period or change their minds.
  • Clear incident choice: All incidents now have an explicit option to take no action. Instructors can now tell the difference between students neglecting to answer an incident and students actively choosing the status quo.

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New Scenarios

  • Scenario 6: Minimum wage of $15 like scenario 5, but servers expect higher wages than previous scenarios. Higher expected coffee price than previous scenarios: $4.75. Higher base demand makes it easier for value-focused cafes to make money, compared to scenario 5.
  • Scenario 7: Minimum wage of $20. Higher expected coffee price of $4.95. Challenging.

Pricing, Demand, and Expense Updates

BizCafe v5 includes several model updates related to expenses, pricing, and demand.
Expenses and utilities

  • Utilities are now reported as separate electricity and water expenses.
  • Monthly trash and recycling expenses are reported under a Solid Waste Pickup line item on the Income Statement.
  • Utility expenses now vary with sales.
  • For the Green Upgrade incident, reductions in utility use are now prorated based on when in the utility billing cycle the incident occurs

Pricing and demand

  • For the Potential Spike in Demand incident, the sales price of coffee from the cart now depends on the scenario. For scenarios 3 and 4, the price remains $2. For scenarios 5–7, the price is $3.
  • For scenarios 5–7, the price range is now $0.30 to $1.50.

BizCafe NEW CASE: Starbucks

Discover Starbucks, a free case series for BizCafe users that brings strategy and customer value to life. Students explore how Starbucks built its iconic “third place” experience, how it drifted during the pandemic, and how the company’s newest CEO is working to rebuild the brand. Paired with a ready-to-use instructor lesson plan, it’s an engaging, discussion‑driven addition to any BizCafe course.
More information about the new case will be available soon.

Brewing a Business

The 2nd edition of Brewing a Business, coming this fall, will feature new and expanded content on topics including artificial intelligence, digital marketing, establishing a value proposition, budgeting, supply chain, and more. New video interviews with entrepreneurs as well as new cases will be included in the eBook resources, along with updated quizzes, PowerPoint slides, and instructor guidance.
Beyond content, the eBook is also getting a full redesign to improve readability and appearance. We look forward to sharing this new version of Brewing a Business with you soon!
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Review updated resources and sample games:

Please log in with your faculty access and select the Simulations tab to go to
BizCafe sample course site!

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