How do mocha and coffee feature in the Starbucks holiday launch?
Starbucks opened the Christmas season with an all-red packaging makeover and a Red Fuji drink series that includes apple-flavored mocha and latte. The promotion pairs the drinks with celebrity stickers featuring spokesperson Kris Phillips and Christmas apple-themed socks, and the internet-slang copy printed on the stickers has drawn mockery online as cheesy rather than festive.
The campaign lands while Luckin, Tims, Seesaw, and other chains push their own mulled wine Americano for the holidays, so the Christmas coffee war is crowded. Beyond the merchandise and the sticker wording, the launch raises a familiar question about mocha and coffee marketing: whether a bold, meme-heavy aesthetic wins younger buyers or pushes the brand's image in an unexpected direction.
The Christmas season has arrived, and as usual Starbucks is the first to kick off the holiday marketing campaign, giving its coffee packaging a full red-themed makeover. This year, what's sparking heated discussion isn't just the new products themselves, but also the addition of spokesperson Fei Xiang—the Red Fuji drink series comes with celebrity stickers and apple sock merchandise, yet many netizens have mocked the internet-slang copy on the stickers as painfully "cheesy." Is this move an attempt to break into the middle-aged and elderly market, or yet another down-to-earth experiment with the brand's aesthetics? Meanwhile, Luckin, Tims, Seesaw and other brands have also jumped on the mulled wine Americano bandwagon, and the Christmas coffee war is in full swing.
▲ Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop Once the Christmas season arrives, many friends have noticed that Starbucks' coffee packaging has all been switched to a red theme, almost failing to recognize the takeout they ordered. As temperatures gradually drop, Starbucks' new Christmas coffee will officially debut tomorrow. This morning, still a Monday surrounded by drowsiness, my feed was popping up with all kinds of gossip. Looking closely—what? Fei Xiang has come to Starbucks with red socks??
On social platforms, several promotional netizens posted that Starbucks is about to launch a Red Fuji drink series, including apple-flavored mocha and latte. Buying any cup in-store gets you a celebrity sticker, and that celebrity is none other than Mr. Fei Xiang. In addition, buying a single new drink at full price also gets you a pair of Christmas apple-themed socks, with the promotion officially launching on the 28th.
Perhaps it's the aura of Mr. Fei Xiang, or perhaps it's the red color scheme, but him wearing a flashy pink apron really doesn't convey any Christmas vibe—it feels more like Chinese New Year. The background music for the video shouldn't be a Christmas tune, but rather Andy Lau's "Gong Xi Fa Cai." Unlike the Starbucks we remember as being tailored to young people's tastes, this Fei Xiang sticker, besides featuring the Starbucks mermaid logo and some Christmas new-product elements, also prints a few internet slang phrases: "I downed it, you do as you please," "Smell the rich fragrance," "What apple?" "Wishing you prosperity"... yeah, the "cheesy" factor is indeed pretty strong.
In response, many casual netizens said they were stunned by the sticker's style: "I thought it was a parody, but it's actually real??" "Why write words on it, such cringey copy," "To be honest, at first glance I thought it was fan-made material," "Starbucks' aesthetic is getting more and more down-to-earth..." According to a former store partner, this isn't the first time Starbucks has released stickers, but printing a celebrity's headshot on a sticker is a first. On top of that, this spokesperson's target audience is mainly the uncles and aunties of the previous generation, while the merch is a small item more popular among young people. So some netizens joked about Starbucks, saying it seems they want to break into the middle-aged and elderly market: "Is this sticker meant for middle-aged aunties?" "I'll keep the apple socks, and give the sticker to my mom."
Before we know it, Christmas is approaching, and brands are itching to ride the wave with marketing. A saying once circulated in the coffee world: as soon as Starbucks' red new products launch, you know Christmas is coming! This year's Christmas coffee marketing rush is no exception, still led by Starbucks, which already rolled out holiday-limited hand warmers, blankets and other branded merch mid-month, making its presence fully felt. Close on its heels are Luckin, Tims, Seesaw and other brands that previously "rushed" to release mulled wine Americanos, vying to be the first hot cup of coffee in everyone's hands this winter. I believe that before long, other chain brands will also quickly follow suit, launching this year's Christmas season new products or merchandise. Image source: Internet Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet, and for some content on the website such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be个别 images and texts that we haven't had time to credit; please forgive us. If the original author has any disputes, they can contact the website for handling, and once verified we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop"; please indicate the source when reposting. If there is any infringement, please notify us for removal. Thank you~!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
