Starbucks Enters New Beverage Territory

Update: Starbucks has recently updated their secret menu: http://secretmenus.com/starbucks-secret-menu

Starbucks has a license to print money. Through business acumen and timing, this once small Seattle coffee shop has turned into a monster chain of almost 21k stores in 62 countries. The primary reason this business has been so successful is that producing a cup of coffee is pretty cheap – especially relative to the absurd prices for said cups of coffee.

The trick has always been to make people think they are getting something fancy, when it is really just a cup of coffee. Somehow, a large espresso and milk became a Venti Macchiato. If you buy into this scheme, you might as well just hand over your wallet, because you’ve been robbed.

In this same vein, Starbucks coffee menu is now testing a new beverage with an even bigger margin that might generate a ton more revenue: the soda. Have you ever wondered why fast food restaurants, gas stations, and the like offer free refills on soft drinks? Soda is super cheap. All you need is the syrup to go along with your water, and you’re in business. The mantra of ‘come for the free soda, stay for anything else’ has been lucrative for many businesses.

Starbucks knows this, of course. And in the same way they upped the cachet of coffee, here comes a handcrafted, retro, carbonated beverage experience. Naturally, these sodas have no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives – those are for poor people. On the contrary, you are a sophisticated trend-setter. Why not saddle up for a spiced root beer or lemon ale? You deserve the best, and Starbucks is more than happy to provide – for a modest cost, of course. Thank goodness you can afford it.