27 July 2008

Starbucks test markets Sorbetto

Here in LA county, Starbucks is test marketing more things that seem designed to get them further away from their roots.

It's called Sorbetto, an icy, Italian drink. Okay, whatever.

While in some dark part of my mind, I think this is a bad idea -because all it really is a gourmet Slurpee in an Starbucks cup - I'm puzzled by the company's strategy. Retuning CEO Howard Schultz wanted to get the coffee chain back to its roots, and get out of all non-coffee related business. But he continues to do the opposite of it.

Anyways, the store I frequent has advertising all over it, hyping up Sorbetto. The store is decked out in mostly pink splotches -decals on the floor and windows. It looks horrible, as if someone hosed the place down with Pepto-Bismol (woo, a Steel Mongolia reference). The decals on the window look like some kid with a paint gun shot at them. Or, for you Star Trek geeks out there, the pink splotches also remind me of the scene in The Undiscovered Country, where after the gravity has been restored, the Klingon blood floating splashes to the ground, the table, the walls.

It looks sort of like that.

On Wednesday, they're having a party to officially launch the test program. For a free drink, I guess I'll go there and mock it.

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