Starbucks brings back retro touch with hand-written names on cups

Starbucks is bringing back a nostalgic component of its coffee service to grow its returning customer base.

Last week, Brian Niccol, the CEO of the coffee conglomerate, announced that Starbucks baristas would once again write customers’ names in Sharpie on their cups. The idea is to emulate the community feel of smaller coffeehouses by incorporating a “human touch.”

In recent years, most Starbucks customers would receive their coffee or drink order with a printed name ticket.

Written names were a fixture of the coffee chain for years as customers would often share misspellings of their names on social media. Over the years, former employees have admitted to misspelling customers’ names intentionally as a marketing tool as people are more likely to take a photo of their cup with a mistake on it.

Niccol estimated that the company needed to track down “something like close to 200,000 Sharpies. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just going to the Staples and picking up some Sharpies,” he told CNBC.

The news comes as Starbucks announces a slew of store updates including the return of self-service sugar and condiments and no more milk alternative fees.

Before the 2020 pandemic, Starbucks allowed customers to grab sugar and cream packets themselves. However, when Covid-19 forced patrons to wait outside for their orders, the company packaged the condiments for them.

“Our customers are asking for it, and our baristas are saying it would help them,” Niccol said about the return of self-service stations.

As for why Starbucks needs to boost customer morale, Niccol said global sales dropped by seven percent at stores open for at least a year while customer transactions decreased by eight percent.

Niccol confessed these “financial results were very disappointing.” He added: “It is clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers and return to growth.”

Last week, Starbucks announced customers would no longer have to pay extra if they want soy, oat, almond, or coconut milk with their drinks. According to the company estimate, this change will ensure customers are paying about 10 percent less than they would when there was a charge for plant-based milk.

What’s more, Niccol said Starbucks would be cutting back promotional discounts offered to Starbucks rewards customers to help increase full-price sales.