Starbucks Coffee

don't change it if it ain't......

Sbux should be ashamed of

1) trading out the Gold Coast label, named after Sbux first store outside Seattle, which happened to be here, in Chicago.  As recently as this past April I personally heard H.S. speak of Sbux affinity with Chicago and referenced the Gold Coast blend etc.   and then suddenly we have it switched out, into a bla brown bag, calling it "morning Joe" or whatever it's called, with a very small print of "gold coast blend" at the bottom of the bag.......with a very pronounced MSNBC label on the side of the bag....in living color.  I found that move incredible.  (as do many others I know, who now will no longer buy it)

2)stop 'dumbing down' Sbux coffee.  Most of us...especially those of us who feel we helped make Sbux what it, eventually, became....don't need to be told if something is DARK or not and we don't need color-coding. I really believe it was more clear to most people when it just referenced BOLD, X-BOLD, Medium etc.  I've seen confusion over the new labeling....people thinking it's not the same coffee.

If this was one of Sbux best $$$ quarters ever, why the need for all the price increases and unnecessary changes?  Im thinking (along with MANY people I know) that Sbux did 'sell their soul'.    sad.  

I think this change is ridiculous.  I loved the old bags and the different pictures and colorful looks. This was definitely a bad move.  They all look the same now and I agree with  'Betterbefore'

No baristas in our store are fans of the new. The new packaging looks like Market Pantry target brand or just very generic. It is also really hard to tell the coffees apart. Are you trying to get a consumer to be indifferent as long as its Bold or Medium roast?

Betterbefore gets Two Thumbs Up for his excellent comment.

Why must Starbucks continually chase the latest fad/trend just to make a quick buck. Starbucks built itself on an experience and products that are now dim visions in the past.

Yes, improve and innovate -- but "new" bags and vernacular are neither.

Weren't you just on Survivor this past season?

;)

My "mild" Breakfast Blend is now a "medium?" Is the roast actually different or just renamed?

I agree with most of the above posters.  The new packaging is bland and unoriginal.  People aren't dumb, but the giant "roast category" is rather insulting to consumers.  Also, they all look the same.  I don't care if some of the original artwork is still there...this yellow orange purple crap is ugly.

Well, what can I say, I am absolutely shocked at how uninteresting and monotonous the new bags are. Where do I start...

My first impression of the new bag was that it was a STORE BRAND. Then I notice it's actually Starbucks. Wow! Many others have also stated this as well, and that is not good, not good at all. Starbucks has succeeded in creating packaging that gives a premium brand the same appearance as a cheap $3 bag of store brand coffee. Way to go!

How could something so bland and lifeless be created by Starbucks? What happened to the uniqueness, the personality, the wonderful aesthetics? I am dumbfounded.

As if these issues weren't bad enough, many have stated that it takes them longer to find what they're looking for. This is due to the bland, cookie-cutter appearance of the new bags; the unique artwork on each bag was very eye-catching (and quite pleasing to the eye as well), and that made it easy to find what you're looking for. Others have had difficultly with some of the new labeling. Why on Earth does Starbucks want to ruin the experience of shopping for their coffee?

I'm not a Starbucks partner, but I am the owner of a graphic design studio. I can say that the people involved in the creation of this new design, and the people who ultimately approved it have absolutely zero vision and an extreme lack of creativity. They also appear to have no understanding of the severe implications that a completely unnecessary change like this can have. ("What ignoramus decided to change the formula of Coke?")

For your sake, bring back the old bags NOW. I can guarantee you that sales have already been lost due to folks glancing at the bags and believing them to be store brand bags... and many of those who do recognize them as the new Starbucks bags are disappointed, upset, or even outraged.

I am amazed that Starbucks didn't learn from the Tropicana OJ fiasco a couple of years back. In my opinion, this new design has already caused damage to the Starbucks brand. Fortunately, it's not too late -- take these abominations off the shelves ASAP, and all will be well.

I agree with everyone here. What is the deal with these bags? The new look is ugly, dumbed down, and unimaginative. You guys have gotten rid of some pretty great roasts lately, and now the generic looking bags too?

Regular customers know what kind of coffee they like and want, we don't need it spelled out for us or color coded, we aren't stupid. The new bags are actually MORE confusing beacuse they all look the same. One of the fun things about buying different blends was the unique appeal of each individual roast's artwork. Starbucks is supposed to be concerned as much about the coffee experience as anything, well these new bags make the coffee boring.

For the new/unsure customer, that's what the Baristas are for! They are supposed to be experts on the coffee offerings, to interact with the customers, and make suggestions. Please don't McDonald's our Starbucks.

I also agree with everyone here.  I stopped to talk to my local Starbucks manager to complain about the change to the Yukon blend (which we go through about two bags a month) from Bold to "Medium". I even called customer service in Seattle and the guy I talked to didn't have a clue. To me, the Yukon blend in fact does seem to be milder now.  Maybe the new packaging is just psyching me out, but I have my doubts. It's interesting that they think the new packaging makes it easier to find your coffee.  All you have to do is go into a store and look at the shelf and realize that now it's even harder to find the coffee you are looking for because all the bags look the same. The local manager agreed and said she didn't like the new packaging. I hope they can admit it was a mistake and return to distinct labels.  I'm definitely not digging the "blonde" bear on my Yukon.

I can appreciate the want to reach out to a broader range of consumers. I feel it's a bit of an overstatement to say that the new bags insult a consumer's intelligence - it just brings in a different wave of consumers who in the past have shied away from Starbucks coffee. I do think that the old packaging had character to it though. It was such a drastic change, and I think you could have made the roasts more prominently labeled without completely scrapping the old packaging.

As a fresh new partner coming in on the cusp of the change i feel the new bags are unpleasent.

i miss the colorful distinctions of the pictures that told stores about the coffee!

bring back the old colorful lables but change it to meet the standards of the roast profiles!

the jist of whats said above is "if it aint broke dont fix it" right!

anyways love the coffee dislike the bags!

As a fresh new partner coming in on the cusp of the change i feel the new bags are unpleasent.

i miss the colorful distinctions of the pictures that told stores about the coffee!

bring back the old colorful lables but change it to meet the standards of the roast profiles!

the jist of whats said above is "if it aint broke dont fix it" right!

anyways love the coffee dislike the bags!

OK:  So I want to post a positive comment here!  I had posted an email last year saying that SBX should put the year of the expiration date on their bags. (BTW:  Does that qualify me for a light bulb???!!!)  So my positive comment is:  At least the new bags have the Month and Year clearly posted on the bag.  Last week-and I mean last week-I bought some Columbia that said October on it-I assumed since I  was buying coffee in February 2012 it meant Oct.-2012.  When I opened the bag the beans looked funny and I looked at the date (which was practically hidden in the old bags) and it was 2011.  I had just bought the bag from the Grocery Store.  So not only did the store sell expired coffee, I bought it because the old bags did not have the year clearly labeled.  I did go back this week and now they have changed over to the new bags. I guess they were still clearing them out last week.  I was horrified that I was sold expired coffee.  So at least the new bags will make it easier to find the dates!

I think your new bag design is a marketing failure.

It takes more time & effort to find the coffee that I want on the shelf, reading all the labels trying to locate what I used to be able to see before I was half way down the aisle.

The mostly white bag looks like it contains generic no name coffee, you've lost brand identification too.

The Blonde coffee seems to have driven this change, and to me it's a boring generic coffee. It doesn't taste any better than Folgers, if I wanted to drink Folgers I'd already be buying it.

Plus the bags are pretty darn ugly.

Has it been worth it?

Being in college, I spend a good deal of my week in Starbucks because I truly enjoy the atmosphere. Over the past few weeks, I have been sampling the two blonde roasts and drinking my favorite bold roasts as well. While I love the new blonde roast, I don't think the new roast called for a total marketing change. I would completely agree with previous comments stating that the new bags make it more difficult to find the coffee you want. And personally, I enjoyed the colorful bags and elaborate designs that accompanied each bag before this change. As opposed to other coffee companies that have bland bags, Starbucks always had coffee in different bags that gave each coffee its own personality. I don't believe that true Starbucks customers needed an "easier" way to find the coffee they wanted in stores, and I wish the old bags would come back.

As an aside, I have also noticed that certain coffees have disappeared.. actually most of the variety is gone in Starbucks stores. My local barista had me try the Mexican Shade and the (Red) coffee and I immediately loved the different flavors that each had to offer. Recently, it appears that most of this variety is gone and there are only a select few coffee blends that remain under the three categories.

As an artist and Barista, I can’t stand the new packaging

Firstly, as a Barista in our city’s busiest store, I find it much more difficult to find exactly what I need on the shelf.  I have had numerous customers think we are out of a coffee because they can’t find it on the shelf among the sea of white bags. I used to be able to see a particular bag of coffee from across the store and know that we indeed had it but now I can’t read the bag until I get close to the shelf.  I am a visual person.   I don’t like that all of the bags look alike outside of their juvenile color-coding.  

Secondly, as an artist, I loved the colorful artwork on each bag and thought that it gave a distinct personality and “story” for each variety.  The artwork was part of my coffee experience with Starbucks.   (At least the artist in me thinks so.)  Before I began working for Starbucks, I was a loyal “two-times a day” customer and always looked forward to the artistic influence on each store of the corporate marketing geniuses and the store Baristas as far as their packaging, décor and signage.  Since I started working for Starbucks, I have looked forward to making the signs for my store with the change of each promotion over the past year.  Oddly, since the launch of the decidedly reserved look of the packaging that accompanied the introduction of the Blonde Roast, I have been asked to limit the signs to just words so they are not distracting from the information being given. So much for the artistic flavor of our chalkboard signs!  The stores and their packaging are looking very commercial, corporate and unimaginative now.  I don’t get the need for the change.  

I get the need for the milder roast and have actually had coffee drinkers that wouldn’t drink ours, actually like the Blonde Roast and now order it instead of hot chocolate when they visit.  However, as a side note, what I don’t get is why it had to be called Blonde???  As a blue-eyed blonde, there is nothing creepier than some strange man looking at me over the cash register with a goofy smirk saying that he would like to sample the Blonde or that he wants a Tall Blonde!  To which I politely respond, “Sure, that will be our Veranda today.”  Then he replies, “That sounds great, I like verandas.  Don’t you?”   The name “Blonde Roast” just doesn’t seem very thought out to us blondes on the front line.  Maybe they should have called the medium roast the “Brunette Roast”?  Oh, but that may have been too politically incorrect.  

Anyway, I miss the wonderful packaging that set Starbucks apart from all others that we now blend in with on the shelf at the grocery!  It needs to come back...along with the organic shade grown Mexico! :(

As always, thanks for the great coffee.  However, we are finding it harder and harder to find decaf beans in your stores.  Though we drink the leaded stuff in the morning we like having the great taste in a decaf at night but find we are very limited to our choices.

Forgot to add that we are not crazy for the new packaging (too simple) but like what is in it.