Don’t Invest In Starbucks

Starbucks is too slow to respond to customers changing needs and wants.

Steve and I lived in the Pacific Northwest for about eleven years. We arrived in the early eighties and at some point during that time frame, while living in Portland, Oregon we became familiar with the Starbucks brand.

‘Progressive’ was the sidewalk talk when anyone referenced them – doing things no other company did and they were definitely going places and were welcomed I surmise in most locations they did eventually go.

Starbucks was kind of the place to buy your morning cup of coffee, instead of the more traditional donut joints, at least for the upscale thinking folks. And everybody in the Northwest loves coffee – and they do drink a lot of it. So, it was indeed a good and smart place to begin the formation of their company and brand.

But what happened? After all these years, and they’ve gone through a lot of changes, but compared to most other companies, not so much. It’s like they stalled somewhere near the beginning and focused mostly on opening new stores, forgetting about the progressive part.

I get it that they think they’re at the top of some kind of food chain on the topics of social consciousness, but they somehow remain stunted in an area that anyone who knew the Northwest would have to agree, if anyone was cognizant of the need for change in the food and beverage industry – from way back in 1971 – it was them.

They don’t sell a lot of food to begin with. In fact most of their food cases look more like artificial displays than actual food for sale. There’s no food genre or environment or atmosphere, yet it’s there looking all pretty and neat, kinda like in a magazine.

It’s like. What. Are. You. Waiting. On? Your employees don’t even know what vegan means or if you have anything vegan. Ask the manager, she’ll know, but she doesn’t. Even she has to go through each item calling vegetarian vegan and oh, here it is we have lots, egg and this and cheese and that. No vegan. Nothing that says on the label: CONTAINS NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS. No baked goods. No sandwiches. No salads. What’s up? Even the salads and salad dressings contained animal products.

Social consciousness? Are you kidding me? The enslavement, torture and slaughter of animals never crossed your mind? The Animal Rights Movement that was in full swing in the early 1970’s you somehow missed? Oh, only in the milk selection. That. Took. Forever. To Happen.

I would try to move you, but you have to move yourself. Be bold – like you once were.

Contains No Animal Products. And we don’t want peanut butter and jelly. We can make that at home. Use your imagination. No kale either.

I don’t want a bag of vegan chips, I want real food. Dead animals are not real food. You can do a lot better, but it seems that you fear change. You lost your edge a long time ago and it will take you a while to fall, because you’re so big, but you will fall. You’re selling stuff from the 1950’s.

You need to wake up in 2017. Or 2018. In the meanwhile I’m going to discourage people from investing further in a company that has no vision – until such time that you make an effort beyond almond milk and sporadically placed vegan chips.