Is Starbucks making its red cups product(RED)?
Well talk about cool. Starbucks has partnered with the product(RED) movement with a new initiative starting on November 26th. For those of you who aren’t familiar with product(RED) here is a description from their homepage:
Each time you buy a (RED) product or service, at no extra cost to you, the company who makes the product will give up to 50 percent of its profit to buy and distribute antiretroviral medicine to our brothers and sisters dying in Africa.
Now, Starbucks’ version of the initiative hasn’t been announced yet. But I have a pretty good idea what it will be. What usually happens around the end of November at Starbucks? RED CUPS.
Red cup season at Starbucks is my favorite time of year, it signals the beginnings of cold weather, hot chocolate and the coming of the holidays. Since the holidays are generally a season of giving, could Starbucks be planning to turn it’s usual red cups into (RED) cups? Donating a percentage of its profits towards Africa? It certainly seems in line with something that the company would do. I’m looking forward to finding out.
If it’s true, it would be a pretty impressive use of profits, and very respectable considering the drop in business as of late. Perhaps Starbucks will using the (RED) promotion to try and get people into drinking Starbucks under the auspices of helping people. It could certainly be a win-win for the company, getting more people in the stores for the cause of donating, and also increasing its customer base.
All I know is that I can’t wait to sit in a comfy-chair with a red cup of hot chocolate watching the snow fall. It’s one of my favorite small joys, and if I can help someone while I do it, all the better.
Tags: Product(RED), Red Cup Season, Starbucks
