Authenticity is a nebulous term; its exact definition is difficult to pin down. Yet it is an aura that Starbucks attempts to embody; with a diversity of choices, comfortable surroundings, a color motif of green and brown, and the raw olfactory appeal of roasted coffee grounds. The meteoric rise of Starbucks from a small coffee bean roaster to multinational giant is counter to what the founders originally envisioned. The first Pikes Place Market storefront once provided free cups of coffee and educational lectures on how to prepare beans for brewing. The primary customers of this small business were initially affluent and educated seventies era professionals, those with “a desire for authentic and informed consumption” in post-hippie Seattle. Customers chose smaller over bigger, quality over quantity, and went through inconvenience to purchase their coffee over a can of Folgers at the supermarket. Baldwin pushed for a counter consumerist character of his small brand, but the company had begun to change in 1982. Howard Shultz, a former coffee equipment salesman, became the marketing manager for Starbucks, and began pushing for changes that would expand the company to the current dominancy it now holds today. With the introduction of trendy Italian espresso and coffee by the cup sales, the company began to expand. Shultz capitalized on the appeal of something foreign like espresso to the wants of discerning consumers; such drinks appeared more exotic and authentic than an average American cup of coffee. Starbucks appeal grew, but Baldwin’s support deteriorated. The company had moved from the paradigm set by Peet’s into territory that strayed far from the original vision. In 1983, chance would bring Baldwin back to Peet’s, after Alfred Peet opted to sell his company in 1979. Facing heavy debt, and torn between the coffee house that inspired him, and the one he created, the Starbucks founder sold his company to Howard Shultz, who aggressively expanded the market footprint of Starbucks in the 1980s and 90s.
Whether or not the company has retained their authenticity is a matter of personal opinion, but their ubiquity throughout the world would indicate that something has drawn millions of customers to integrate Starbucks as their coffee of choice. The primary similarity between the two brewing industries is their origins in the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of place in marketing the respective beverages. The specialty coffee industry prides itself on the Seattle origins; such that the industry has become synonymous with the regional uniqueness of the city. Brewing companies exhibit the same glorifying behavior of their hometowns, celebrating their locality as a marker by which consumers can rally behind. Starbucks is in no way a local-only brand, like many independent coffee shops throughout the nation; no more than the largest craft breweries can claim to be a local brewery when compared to the thousands of relatively smaller brewing companies that distribute to smaller markets by necessity. But the companies still appeal to the allure of buying small and local; by associating their brand with a region or a specific city, touching a nerve in the consuming public for locally produced and handcrafted products. The coffee of Seattle and the beers of California remodeled the beverages millions of Americans drink, growing from niche market, to nationwide phenomena with the backing of new and diverse products, and savvy marketing.
Eric Ortega, “The Golden State of Brewing; California’s Economic and Cultural Influence in the American Brewing Industry” (Master’s thesis, California State University, Fullerton, 2015), 86-88.