10 things you should know about Starbucks and the month of November:
November is a great month at Starbucks. Did you know that lots of interesting things have happened first in November for Starbucks?
- November 2, 2011: Starbucks launched their Create Jobs for USA initiative in cooperation with Opportunity Finance Network on November 2nd last year. Time has flown by!
- November 4, 1985: Did you know that Starbucks first incorporated as a public corporation way back when, on November 4, 1985. Where were you in November 1985?
- November 4, 2008: Did you know that Thanksgiving Blend coffee first launched into the whole bean coffee lineup on November 4, 2008?
- November 5, 2010: Did you know that Starbucks opened their first store in El Salvador on November 5, 2010?
- November 11, 1984: Did you know that Starbucks first launched Christmas Blend in stores on November 11, 1984? If you’re looking for an amazing article with some really old history on Christmas Blend, read this article on the BrandAutopsy.com website. Today is the 28th birthday of Christmas Blend! That’s a coffee that has stood the test of time! I’m happy to see it back in stores today!
- November 13, 2012: Christmas Blend launches in the Verismo Pod format! I had to sneak this in. I had the chance to try a cup earlier today (November 12, 2012) and I’m impressed! It has a lot of spicy flavor. I hope Santa brings me a Verismo for Christmas. 😉 I’ve been nice! This is a must-have pod for bold coffee drinkers. The body of the coffee is just a little thinner than what I expect from it by other brew methods, but the flavor totally holds its own. You can buy the Christmas Blend Verismo pods at StarbucksStore.com also.
- November 14, 2001: Starbucks introduces the Starbucks Card into their stores. For the first time, customers can pay and use a Starbucks Card at the register. As I understand it, this was launched just in time for the holidays! I’m not positive if it was the 13th or 14th for the introduction of the Starbucks card, but it’s the 14th that I’ve seen cited in blog articles and websites. In 2001, the Tuesday was the 13th, so that would make logical sense as the launch date, but it was so long ago … I really don’t know. It was definitely November 2001, and either the 13th or the 14th.
- November 15, 2000: Did you know that the Gingerbread Latte was first introduced into the Starbucks beverage lineup in November 2000? This article here cites it as a November 15, 2000, though that was a Wednesday, so I would expect that the exact launch date of the all-new Gingerbread Latte would have been November 14, 2000.
- November 17, 2009: Starbucks introduces an all-new beverage into the holiday lineup. Did you know that the Caramel Brulee latte made its debut on November 17, 2009?
- November 26, 2008: Did you know that Starbucks opened their first store in Bulgaria on November 26, 2008?
There you have it! Ten essential November Starbucks history lessons. If you like more of this kind of thing, you can follow @SbuxCalendar on Twitter which is tweets periodic important dates in Starbucks history.
If you like the holiday beverages, go to Starbucks November 15, 2012 through November 18, 2012 (from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and you can take advantage of a “buy one, get one free” promotion. Now’s a chance to go with a friend, a buy one holiday beverage, and get the other for free.
Today is the launch of holiday 2012 at Starbucks! I will have more articles up soon about this year’s holiday offerings and store holiday decor.
21 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Socialize
Are the Verismo pods proprietary (don’t work in any other brand machine)?
I picked up a bag of Thanksgiving blend beans yesterday and look forward to the Christmas blend (though, and yes I’m whining, I’m not regularly buying beans in the store anymore, since the rewards change).
I personally would like to see more variety and greater availability of Starbucks espresso machine pods, a whole different animal. I only see them online.
Interesting facts, Melody. Good intro to the holiday season. I think the decor in the Starbucks stores helps get me in the mood for decorating and shopping. Some people don’t like that it’s done before Thanksgiving but I personally need all the help I can get! 🙂 I just look at it as one long holiday and enjoy it even though it can get hectic at times. I’m looking forward to getting off work today and stopping into my local Starbucks to check out the decor.
@theatrenut: I don’t know if the Verismo pods work in any other machine but I know you need Versimo pods (Sbux) for the Verismo. Actually, I can’t say for sure but compared to Keurig, my statement stands. The Verismo pods are shorter than the K-cups…. I would assume Sbux made it this way to be very specific. Otherwise, it’d just be another Keurig machine. It is odd that they just not so long ago finally added Sbux to K-cups and then shortly launched this Verismo. Of course, I’m sure this was all planned quite a while ago, maybe before this overlap was known.? I have heard from a few sms that they are concerned trying to sell K-cups and now also the Verismo and its pods. (altho the machine itself is not in every store)
@Melody: interesting historical line-up. I wouldn’t have guessed that Christmas blend went so far back……but I am thinking I don’t really remember a time in Sbux when there wasn’t Christmas blend. and, to follow up on the peppermint mocha VIA I had last nite, I would almost swear there was no peppermint in it. It was good, but only barely a hint (if that) of peppermint to me. I could have just as easily been drinking some really good hot chocolate. Good……but no peppermint to me.
I have said this before, but as much as the stores are nicely decorated with the holidays I still feel they focus too much on a Xmas theme and not on the various holidays we all celebrate. I know SB is not the only company to do this, but it bothers me anyway.
Did you happen to see the mini booklet (placed up by the gift cards) that you can buy for $25. It contains what looks to be $5 certificates you can use for things like “coffee with a friend,” etc. I’m mentioning it in this thread because prior to the November 2001 introduction of the Starbucks Card, you could buy books of certificates (they were $3 each and came in books of 5) that could be used for anything in the stores (you even got change in cash if your order was less than $3).
As for the Verismo, the marketing is funny to me. The marketing claims you couldn’t make a Starbucks latte or espresso at home until now.
“Impossible until now” is either complete nonsense or the $2,000 Rialto, $900 Saeco, $400 Barista and $350 Proteo Grande I have purchased from Starbucks for personal use over the years, and the claims Starbucks made at the time I purchased them, have had me completely fooled.
Or perhaps this is what happens when you have eager marketing people who either do not have a long-term connection with Starbucks or are not in touch with the company’s history.
Either way, I guess I’ll keep buying my Starbucks whole bean Espresso and making my lattes at home with my Rialto. I’ll just have to call them something else. 😉
@CD – Yeah, the “Impossible to now” sounds good, but isn’t all that reality-based. I get what you mean. The SSC keeps hiring in new people, and once in a blue moon, I’ve met people at the corporate level who don’t really seem to know much Starbucks history. I think that’s the nature of any huge brand – they employ so many, and so many come and go, that you’re left with ‘Tribal Knowledge.’ And, seriously, I think that every marketing new hire at Starbucks should be required to read John Moore’s book about Starbucks called Tribal Knowledge – it’s very specific to what happens with Starbucks and marketing. It is Tribal Knolwledge now!
I probably will have a whole series of articles coming up where I shine a spot light on things that are available this year. Obviously, I can’t write about everything one by one, but there will be a few upcoming articles where I talk about specific holiday offerings. That mini coupon book might be very interesting to talk about!
I will definitely be buying Christmas Blend and Christmas Blend Espresso and plan on trying the Blonde Roast too…can’t wait.
Thanks for the history of an iconic company, Melody.
i saw those little books today. they mentioned ‘mini’ on the front, and ‘moments’. perhaps there are 5 mini starbucks cards inside? i couldn’t grab one to see.
i *did* get the new rodarte cups that i thought resembled minecraft sculptures, and the matching gift cards. there were also matching cup sleeves, that looked to be made of cloth, which i did not get, due to budget concerns.
sorry if this posts twice!
@elly – I picked up one of the Rodarte cards for my son to use. He’s a huge Minecraft fan and likes the color green too. I like the mug myself very much, but wish it could be microwaved.
I, too, noticed the little ‘mini’ coupon booklets (for $25.00 I think) They definitely are a form of the similar booklets that they had in the late ’90’s. We actually had a Christmas tree up in our store (maybe 5-6ft?). I don’t ever remember that from before but I like it, it looks nice.
Silly Dana didn’t know Starbucks was this old!
Hi Melody! Such a fun article! Thanksgiving is my fave seasonal blend!
@Dana – Starbucks was born in 1971! But espresso beverages came much later in the 1980s.
@HollyMarie – Thank you for the comment! I am glad you liked it. I love this kind of trivia. If there were a Trivial Pursuit of just Starbucks trivia, I would have so much fun playing it.
I’ve also been bothered by the ‘Impossible Until Now’ line. I’ve been comforting myself by the fact that it hasn’t been at the push of a button before now. Weak, but it helps me sleep at night 🙂 I think the mini booklets are funny – it seems like not that long ago we got rid of all the paper coupons and only had cards, and now they’re back!
I love the mini moments booklets! It’s 5 $5 Starbucks cards that you can tear out of the booklet and give to your hairdresser, friend, mailman, etc. I will be getting some of these! I bought the Rodarte tote and mug today. I love the whole display! Even after the box fell on my foot :p thank you for a great round up Melody!
I think it’s noteworthy to point out that when Starbucks introduced the Starbucks card, they were one of the first retailers to offer something like this and literally changed the game of the Holiday season. It was innovation ahead of it’s time and I rarely hear people know or acknowledge this. Also, the Starbucks card continued to evolve and be on the forefront of innovative retail practices as Starbucks introduced My Starbucks Rewards and subsequently was one of the first major retailers (if not the first) to have customers use their smartphones to pay for their purchases. As a note of history, all the store managers were given a limited edition Starbucks card the year the card launched that had a photo of espresso brewing into shot glasses.
@ cd – i might have to go back for a tote. i volunteer with a minecraft-related charity event (minecraftmarathon.org), and i think they’d flip if i brought one!
Thank you for this post as i love reading about anything Starbucks related. Got the Rodarte mug and card and tote for gifts. I would love to have one of the introductory Starbucks cards.
Melody, You made me realize I’ve only been drinking Starbucks for 5-6 years!! Thought I’d tell you the dated mentioned at the bottom of the blog reference a promo for the 2012 season.
Think you have the wrong date for the first Christmas Blend, it’s listed as November 1985.
@Mark –
Hi there! There is an official Starbucks.com blog post on Christmas Blend that states 1984,
http://www.starbucks.com/blog/archivebymonth/2009/11
I know that Brand Autopsy article has 1985 marketing materials for Christmas Blend, but I believe it very first appeared in 1984. Thanks!