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Food Politics

Memo to Starbucks: You Can’t Buy Authenticity
Hannah Wallace
July 24, 2009

Earlier this week, I read a short item mentioning Starbucks’ latest (rather desperate) bid to lure back consumers. Is the coffee chain going to roll out more clovers across the land? No. Is it going to launch coffee tastings, or cuppings, at some of its more sophisticated urban outlets? Possibly. But today, it opens the first of its rebranded “neighborhood” coffee shops—Starbucks cafes that have been redesigned with a “community personality” and independent-sounding names and no trace of its trademark mermaid logo.

Whatever you think of Starbucks—and the quality of its coffee—you have to wonder about this new ploy. I’m no business-woman, but is taking away your biggest asset (your brand name) and pretending to be something you’re not (an indie coffee shop) a good business plan? Who exactly do Starbucks VPs intend to fool with these faux indie cafes?

According to Seattle Times’ reporter Melissa Allison, who as far as I can tell broke this story, the first Seattle store to get a facelift (now called “15th Avenue Coffee and Tea”) will sell Starbucks coffee. But to disguise that fact (and, clearly, to keep the façade going), the coffee bags will carry the “15th Avenue Coffee and Tea” label.

Look: many people love Starbucks just the way it is. In fact, they go out of their way to go there daily and give Starbucks gift cards for stocking stuffers. (Hi mom!)

Personally, when I have a choice, I’ll go to a true local coffee shop—because I like to support the underdog and because many indie cafés across this fine land are using excellent, fresh coffees from superior regional roasters. But also: let’s be honest. I frequent the indies because they employ the best baristas.

What annoys me—and what I suspect will annoy many food-focused consumers—is the notion that we aren’t savvy enough to spot the difference between a national chain’s faux indie redesign and an actual locally owned coffee shop.

As one disgruntled Seattle Times reader posted on Ms. Allison’s article: “Somebody should’ve informed Starbucks that you can’t buy authenticity.”

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Hannah Wallace writes about food justice, integrative medicine, and travel. She is a frequent contributor to Whole Living (formerly Body + Soul), Portland Monthly, and T: Travel, and her articles and book ...

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  • Zoe Singer

    Wow, that’s insidious. And desperate! I wonder if many other companies do this without our realizing it. Will the people behind the counter tell you if it’s a Starbucks if you ask? I presume they’ll accept those stocking stuffer cards, right?

  • Jennifer

    Interesting move. Maybe the local coffee shops should follow the lead and rebrand themselves as Starbucks.

  • Mason Lerner

    Starbucks. A sub-par product (bad coffee, lame ambiance etc) for which there was no demand(seriously, what teenager ever wanted, or had even heard of, a latte’ before Starbucks?)that is completely over priced. Yet it became one of the biggest brand names in the US. Maybe this stupid idea will work too. Feh.

  • cherish

    Money cannot buy hippieness, either.

  • Rose CC

    I wonder if they are going to drop the trademark $4 Latte pricetag as well. As someone who lives in Seattle, I don’t go to Starbucks, but not really because of corporate distrust. Their coffee is not as good as most of the other local coffee roasters. They charge way to much for their product. Their service seems robotic. And they charge for Wifi. Boo.

  • Educated Barista

    As a barista at a fair trade coffee shop that ACTUALLY ROASTS THE BEANS on the premises instead of making coffee with low quality, burnt coffee grounds that have been sitting in a bag for several months; reading this article just makes me irritated.
    First of all, why can’t people buy coffee for QUALITY instead of aesthetics? Sure, that cute little cup with the SBUX logo on it looks cute to your friends, especially when you tell them it’s a “caramel macchiato” you’re sipping (not a real drink, by the way). But wouldn’t you rather drink some good, pure, FRESH coffee? I’m starting to wonder about people.
    Second of all, it shouldn’t be about “hippieness” at all. It should be about supporting the coffee shops that work their butts off to make you coffee that TASTES good, not coffee that LOOKS good.
    I’m not saying that independent coffee shops don’t get ANY amount of support. However, it’s pretty frustrating for them to deal with the people that walk in and become disgruntled when they can’t have their drink with a cutesy green label on the cup or a flowery staccato name.
    To conclude, this is a great article, though it’s ridiculous what companies like SBUX are doing to make money these days. Someone had to say it :) Well done!

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