What Has Starbucks Become?

As I sit out on the patio of my neighborhood Starbucks sipping a signature hot chocolate and spooning down some Perfect Oatmeal, I marvel at what Starbucks has become. But just what has Starbucks become? I’m not sure. One thing is for certain, Starbucks is no longer a coffee house.

I’m not saying that what Starbucks has become is bad. It is what it is. I do miss the “old Starbucks” however. And maybe that’s just nostalgia talking. I miss the days when the premium coffee experience was new. The days before it took 15 seconds for a customer to recite their secret recipe and order something that resembles coffee. I miss when Starbucks used to be that “third place” that Howard Schultz talks about so often but never pursues.

So just what is Starbucks now? Is it oatmeal and breakfast? Is it healthy smoothies, made to order Frappuccinos? Chai & hot chocolate? Is it better coffee, faster? It’s all of these things, with still more to come. It’s a branding mess, but it’s more (or less) than that.

Starbucks is now also an undistinguished experience; a hermaphroditic jumble of new product introductions. Now being rolled out: the Clover. Soon to come: Sorbetto. It appears that Starbucks has decided the way to a higher stock price is to just sell stuff. Any kind of stuff. What ties all of these products together other than they can all be consumed?

So help me out. What is Starbucks? I’ve previously suggested that it’s a beverage convenience store, but that’s not accurate. An upscale quick serve restaurant? Or is it some new hybrid category?

One thing is for certain, it’s not the old Starbucks and Starbucks is no longer about coffee.

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