Is A Kahluaccino Coming Soon?

I’ve dreamt of the day Starbucks would get a liquor license and now it’s here. Although not quite in the form I’d desired, it’s here. I’d imagined a world where hedonism was part of mainstream lifestyle and a frothy sugar-laden coffee drink came spiked to quell that oncoming hangover one would fear at 11 a.m. [...]

Beverage Trend – Single Brew Coffee

The latest beverage trend is about the medium not the product. Single brew coffee. It’s ironic that if you hold onto something for long enough it will once again be en vogue. When I moved to NYC in 2004, I was staying with my aunt and uncle, who had been in the same apartment in [...]

Starbucks Makes Wellness Push With Acquisition – Retail & Raw in One Buy?

Starbucks Coffee Company recently announced it acquired Evolution Fresh as part of a continued push to bank off of “healthier menu options.” Starbucks’ press releases cites statistics including that of a “$1.6 billion super-premium juice” sector and “a $50 billion health and wellness sector,” both of which it aims to take a bigger bite from. [...]

Starbucks Unveils Its Big Gulp + India Plans

Starbucks Coffee Company has inked a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Coffee, a unit of Indian conglomerate Tata, to collaborate on sourcing and roasting green coffee beans. Tata is a holding company with subsidiaries in nearly every industry, from steel and autos, to chemicals and beverages. Most recently known for creating the tiny car [...]

Coffee 2.0

Is it possible New Yorkers are so much busier than everyone else in the world that prepaid lattes are necessary? This is a theory Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is testing out, with a new service available in NYC and Long Island. Available at 300 locations to start, the Starbucks Card Mobile App is available on [...]

Even Gang Members Love Starbucks

Friday morning was pretty eventful since I learned that even gang members like Starbucks. In the East Village and Alphabet City, even in a post-Rudy Giuliani New York, one expects their fair share of shady folks, grifters and junkies. But in Gramercy Park, one expects a bit of suburbia in the city. So imagine this, [...]

Starbucks Gives Seattle’s Best Branding Freedom

Starbucks is letting subsidiary Seattle’s Best Coffee do its own thing, with a recent rebranding initiative that cuts it loose from the siren and continues on the partnership sales models. The rebranding, which started with the logo, is aimed at creating a distinct brand because SBC is about retail partnerships, as opposed to Starbucks, the [...]

Starbucks: A LEED Store, Happy Hour & Custom Drinks

Though the country may still suffer from nearly 10% unemployment, we have begun a recovery and so has Starbucks. Late last month, the company announced that its SoHo, NYC, store on Spring Street is registered for LEED certification as part of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Volume chrome://foxytunes-public/content/signatures/signature-button.pngCertification pilot program. The design is a blend [...]

Coffee & Sex: Necessary Evils?

Coffee is like ex-sex—you know it’s bad for you, but you just keep succumbing. You think that for the momentary period of bliss, the caving is worth it, but after every time, you promise yourself you’ll kick the habit. Such is the case for my sticking with a coffee detox of at least a week. [...]

Mancession + Bathing Suit Season = Coffee Profits

Could it be as simple as the combination of the impending swimsuit season and an ongoing mancession that drove sales for Starbucks and fastfood giant, McDonald’s? McDonald’s added all these fluffy sugary coffee drinks to their menu, as well as hot and iced coffee, in American sizes at flyover state prices. So far so good. [...]

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