Yahoo Finance What's Starbucks' next social issue?
A key part of Starbucks' (SBUX) race relations campaign is coming to an end. As of Sunday, baristas are no longer writing the words "Race Together" on customers' cups. According to Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, this move was part of the original plan, and other aspects of the campaign will continue.
“This phase of the effort -- writing "Race Together" (or placing stickers) on cups, which was always just the catalyst for a much broader and longer term conversation -- will be completed as originally planned today, March 22," Schultz wrote in a letter to Starbucks' partners.
Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task notes the amount of media coverage this aspect of the "Race Together" campaign received.
"He can have all kinds of community meetings and meetings with Starbucks employees, but until it's actually in the store where I as a customer experience it, I probably am not going to care that much," he says. "So if that was his intention all along, then he did a brilliant job, but I'm a little skeptical that that was really the intention."
Task points out that the campaign will eventually conclude.
“I think it will phase out, unless Howard Schultz becomes president, and it's mandatory that we have a Starbucks in every corner of the country,” he quips.
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Starbucks will continue to wade into social issues adds Task.
"Should they? Probably not. Will they? Yes," he says. "I think Schultz has been obviously very clear about this and outspoken about this, and how he wants to use Starbucks is as a way to get the communities talking about big issues, and I don't know why he would stop."
In his letter, Schultz clarified the purpose of the "Race Together" campaign. "We didn’t expect universal praise. The heart of Race Together has always been about humanity: the promise of the American Dream should be available to every person in this country, not just a select few," he wrote.
Task thinks this hints at a new topic Starbucks may undertake.
"Now that to me sounds like he's talking about income inequality as much as race, so maybe that's going to be the next issue they're going to tackle at Starbucks," he says.
