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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Plots New Direction For Company
Take a seat, please // Illustration by Kait Cunniff via DALL-E
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is introducing a new company plan, “Back to Starbucks,” that aims to undo the past ten years of quick, contactless, mobile-first transactions at its locations.
Why It Hits: Fast-casual dining has been recently inundated with a culture of optimization, favoring the ability to get customers in and out of the door as fast as possible instead of building a deeper relationship with them. Starbucks now wants to flip the script.
Between The Seats: With younger generations looking for places to hang out IRL, Niccol realizes that the best store makeover is by going back to the company’s roots.
Here’s what’s coming back:
Hundreds of thousands of chairs (not the classic purple ones, but something more modern)
Handwritten notes on cups (potentially with your name spelled correctly)
Ceramic mugs (refills!)
In-store condiment bars (yes, you will now be able to pour your own creamer)
The Future: Believe it or not, there was a time when people enjoyed sitting inside Starbucks to have their coffee, hitting peak popularity roughly ten years ago. That’s what Niccol wants to recapture, which also involves a menu revamp, including drinks and pastries that have more protein… because everyone wants more protein right now.
That may be what’s needed to get Starbucks growing again, which has been relatively flat for the past five years (roughly annual revenue of $36 billion). While the company is still the biggest coffeehouse on the market, competitors like Dutch Bros, Dunkin’, and Luckin Coffee are nipping at its heels.
Brewing Soon: The revamp of Starbucks could kick off a literal vibe shift among mass-market food and drink brands. Mariachi Band Mondays at Taco Bell? Don’t count it out.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.