Two restaurants that many East kids know and love, Chipotle and Starbucks. Many students visit Starbucks in between classes or for an after-school catchup in Gaslight, as well as occasionally venturing down the East Beltline to Chipotle during their lunch period. Many would be surprised to know there is a newfound connection between the two fast food chains.

Brian Niccol is the new Starbucks CEO as of Sept. of 2024. He took over the fast food chain from Howard D. Schultz and is an expert of the business. Niccol was the longtime Chipotle executive and is bringing his expertise from the marketing of that chain to another. 

One of the things that the new CEO is very adamant about is the fact that he wants Starbucks to be a sit-down spot, and resemble a local coffee shop. This marketing tactic can be summarized in one statement which is the goal of the business ‘Home, Work, Starbucks’. 

This essentially means that the new business plan is to make it so there are three places one wants or needs to be. Home and work for obvious everyday reasons, and Starbucks- a new revamped place to study, socialize, and have a getaway that’s part of daily routine. 

The Starbucks mobile app limits this ideology. Delish.com reports that Starbucks mobile ordering takes up 30% of transactions. The new CEO wants to change this and have more in-store ordering in place so people stay at the store, not just take their drink and leave.

Another thing that Niccol is trying to do is simplify the menu of Starbucks. Every season it seems an abundance of new items comes out which may be seen as overwhelming to customers. The new CEO wants to cut back on the variations of drinks to make it simpler for the baristas and make the idea of Starbucks’s product more appealing to customers. 

Also, the company wants to cut back on marketing as far as drink promotions because they are ineffective as far as exposure.

Starbucks, especially since Covid-19, has turned into a very ‘fast-food feel’ chain. In prior years, there was a more community feel with condiment bars and simpler aesthetics. Starbucks has been more commercialized which many people don’t like.

With the new CEO Niccol, it will be nice to see a new version of Starbucks as the presence of the brand will hopefully go back more to that of the early 2010s that many of us love and have missed.