Coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX) has been eager to rebuild the “coffeehouse experience” that catapulted it to prominence decades ago. One of the things it is counting on is cup drawings, clever little pictures and sayings on the sides of cups created by baristas at the time. This high degree of personalization has endeared some, but offended others. And one more cup issue is coming back on Starbucks now. Investors seemed unconcerned, though, and sent shares up over 2% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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The issue this time stemmed from a Tucson police officer who stopped in at a Starbucks for an Iced Pistachio Latte. All reasonable enough, until the part with the cup drawing came in. The officer in question believed she had been handed a cup with a drawing of a pig on it. This of course sparked outrage from the Tucson Police Officers Association, which prompted an investigation at Starbucks.
Starbucks, in a somewhat uncharacteristic move, offered a response that blamed the police. Calling it a misunderstanding, Starbucks suggested that the drawing in question was not of a pig, but rather of a bear. More specifically, a bearista, like the short-lived phenomenon that briefly swept Starbucks locations just months ago. Starbucks rep Jaci Anderson pointed out that the officer went through the drive-thru, where the employee who drew the image could not see the car. Further, the officer was in an unmarked car. Thus, the notion that the employee drew a pig on the cup was unlikely. A look at the picture itself, meanwhile, supports this. I personally thought the image resembled a stylized frog more than anything.
The Coffeehouse Culture Party
Meanwhile, Starbucks’ move to elevate coffee to high fashion territory went off recently, as the Piazza Cordusio took on green light and animations as part of its The House of Coffee event. The event kicked off Milan Fashion Week, and featured cup illustrations, animation projected on walls, and more.
A unique drink menu was also put in play, including a new version of an espresso martini and a drink that offered mint, ginger and coffee notes in an “emerald-green cocktail.” Another event is scheduled for February, which will likely feature new but familiar themes.
Is Starbucks Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SBUX stock based on 13 Buys, seven Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.02% loss in its share price over the past year, the average SBUX price target of $97.11 per share implies 0.49% downside risk.
