Starbucks: New menu product blasts through the innovation funnel on the wings of a rich story.

The need: Starbucks is one of those special brands that can convincingly demonstrate a living mythology, with supporting legends, characters, and a collection of products and services that give customers a taste of seduction--and a hint of something even deeper. Over time, however, its upstream innovation became too removed from those alluring experiences customers had come to expect. Moments of real intimacy and personal connection were fading, as concerns began to grow around the relationship between innovation and the brand’s overall equity.

The approach: We modified our ethnographic approach due to travel restrictions, asking research participants to submit videos, to interview friends and family, and to meet with us online multiple times. Through this learning, we invented a springboard--a creative territory comprised of curated stories, visuals, evocative prompts, and guardrails--around sensuous awakening. Then, we facilitated an online ideation that explored participants’ dreams, pushed the team’s heartbeats-per-minute through aerobic imaginative exercises, and facilitated a focus on the combined power of narrative, reflection, and of course, seduction. 

The result: While many of the winning concepts are still being tested and refined, one broke through immediately and hit menus nationwide during summer 2021: the Strawberry Funnelcake Frappuccino. This drink instantly evokes a rich story, tapping into shared memories, and inviting a powerful synesthesia melded through ingenious naming, ingredients, and presentation. The best part? Look for more storied beverages to emerge in the next couple years!