Refreshing, lightly carbonated, botanically infused refreshment beverages rooted in green coffee extract.
In the 1990s, Starbucks redefined how people thought about coffee — from uneventful, to romantic and unexpected.
20+ years later, they were at it again, expanding the boundaries of what "coffee" is, redefining the category, and inviting consmers to experience coffee in a completely new way.
Coffee beverages, whether served hot or iced, traditionally start with mature coffee beans, roasted and ground.
Starbucks created a fresher, lighter, healthier cold-coffee experience, starting with an extract from un-roasted green coffee beans. Milder in flavor, higher in antioxidants, less processed, and more refreshing, this beverage was nothing like the "coffee" that everyone knew.
The challenge in naming this line of beverages was one of redefinition; how to build on market leadership to expand the concept of a product category into a decidedly different area.
The beverage was a completely different expression of coffee, and the audience was quite different from the core Starbucks fan — more experimental and playful, more unconventional, more drawn to cold vs. hot beverages — but the product name needed to intuitively fit with the Starbucks brand personality. It had to feel inspiring, thoughtful, lively; it had to be simple — understanding the product itself was already a steep learning curve; and it had to ring true, to be authentic.
Starbucks Refreshers
The word refresh means to reinvigorate, uplift, restore, or revive
Intuitively cues light, natural, and easy-to-drink, distancing this green-coffee-bean infusion from the roasted-bean, brewed coffee experience, and setting appropriate expectations for consumers
Embedded in the name is the construct that this beverage is re: — as in about — being fresher
The word fresher is a superlative form of the word fresh with several relevant associations:
o Recently harvested; natural pure and wholesome; not preserved or processed
o New; excitingly or unexpectedly different from what has been done previously
o Alert and full of energy
o Cool or colder than usual
o Pleasantly bright, light, pure and clear
Speaks equally to the “one step younger” un-roasted coffee bean; to the natural botanical ingredients and unexpected combination of flavors; to the antioxidant and “gentle energy” effect of the green coffee bean; to the light color, texture, and flavor; to the restorative nature of the beverage; and to the breakthrough new coffee category
Broad enough term can easily expand to include cold drinks from any part of the coffee life cycle — the blossom, flower, berry, or bean
Works equally well as a graphic execution in the ready-to-drink world, and as a called-out order in the Starbucks retail locations
Addresses the experience and benefit of the drink, as well as supporting consumers’ education on the coffee life cycle
Authentic, human, inspiring, thoughtful, and lively
Works on every level — a Fussfactory name.