Starbucks eyes FMCG status with Frappuccino push

Starbucks is to introduce a range of bottled frappuccino drinks for the retail trade as it increases its efforts to become a household FMCG brand.

/e/t/l/frapp160.jpg

The launch is one of a number of product innovations that Starbucks plans to launch into the retail market this year as part of its strategy to diversify the brand into additional retail categories.

The range of ’Starbucks Wherever-You-Want-It Frappuccino’ drinks launches in May. Starbucks wants to establish its Frappuccino brand as a standalone sub-brand and is also revamping its in-store frappuccino range by introducing the ’However-You-Want-It’ offer with more than 35,000 possible combinations. It previously only offered a limited selection of premixed drinks.

Starbucks will run an integrated brand campaign that includes the headline sponsorship of Capital FM’s Summertime Ball, cinema advertising, experiential, sampling, digital and PR activity next month.

Starbucks head of brand development Claire Waugh says: “This is phase one of our plan to build love for the brand and keep growing it. The Frappuccino brand looks quite different to the parent Starbucks brand. It appeals to a different audience because it has such a different personality.”

Starbucks introduced a new logo in January, which dropped the chain’s name from its visual identity, in a bid to make it more easily applicable to new categories.