You might be wondering What is Red Cup Day? It is an event for one day where Starbucks gives a giveaway of their coveted Red Cups to anyone who orders a holiday-themed drink. It occurs on a different day each year but usually is always sometime in the middle of November. This year it was Thursday, November 14th. The first Red Cup Day started in 1997 when former designer Sandy Nelson was tasked to create Starbucks’s first holiday cup designs. The first design was with red, purple, and green. They later switched to the iconic red we all love and know.
Red Cup Day has been a worldwide phenomenon across multiple countries. They have helped and impacted millions of people’s lives around the world. It has become a proficient staple in people’s everyday lives. The food chain we all know, and love started in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, at the time it only sold coffee beans, teas, and spices. Ten years later, a young New Yorker named Howard Schultz walked through the doors, and he became amazed by the cup of coffee he had. He joined the company in 1982, and he would help change the legacy of Starbucks forever. When Howard was on a trip to Milan Italy in 1983 that he experienced Italy’s coffeehouses and how they make and have their coffee. He returned feeling encouraged to bring the feeling of warmth and artistry to Starbucks. By 1987 they swapped the brown aprons to green ones, and they commenced on their new adventure of the business. They would soon expand to have shops in Canada, Europe, Washington D.C., California, New York, Japan, and China. They would move to welcome millions of customers across the world every day and be a part of thousands of neighborhoods across the globe. They are always proving to help their customers and spread joy with each cup.
Starbucks Red Cup Day implies that they are trying to reduce waste by one cup at a time. Starbucks started this tradition in 1999, and it has become a movement for decades. For every cup they sell, if the customer brings back the cup, they can earn a 10-cent discount. Even though they did not have social media in 99 it still made commotion, but it gained more attraction in 2005 when it was posted to websites and shared every 4 seconds. Since then, Starbucks has excited and drawn millions of people into the holiday spirit.
