Starbucks makes major change with not-so-secret menu additions

Starbucks is synonymous with high street coffee, and for good reason. Since its first store opened in Seattle in the 70s, it’s become an international heavyweight thanks to great coffee, a broad menu, tasty grub options, and its doubling-up as a social space to meet friends and family.

That said, the sun rarely shines forever on any business, and a sales slump has prompting some changes to the formula.

Under new CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks is gradually shifting towards a more customer-centric model, with his view seeming to be that a local Starbucks should be an important part of its community.

To that end, the post-pandemic trend for less seating and a more takeaway-focused service is being dialled back, with more seats, more classic ceramic mugs, and a series of little changes that should help to ensure each customer feels valued.

Some changes are being made to the menu and the pricing strategy, too, and customers’ creativity around add-ons and ‘secret menu’ orders haven’t gone unnoticed by Starbucks’ top brass.

Via the Starbucks mobile app, customers can now see a host of alternative menu options inspired by social media trends and word-of-mouth ideas that have spawned some inventive ‘secret menu’ items.

At present, the four new options include: cookies on top, dragon fruit glow-up, lemon, tea and pearls, and just add white mocha. The app also features Starbucks’ explanations for what these entail.

Cookies on top, for example, is an option that yields a cookies and cream flavour that’s sure to be a hit. By adding crumbled cookies to Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam over a Cold Brew, you can kit yourself out with a light milkshake.

With vibrant, near-neon drinks being popular on social media at the moment, you could get in on the action with Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher. Top it off with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam, and you’ll have a series of flavoursome layers that not only tastes delicious but scratches a curious itch for tiered beverages that you didn’t know you had.

It seems that the new tab on the Starbucks app will have a rotating cast of inventive combinations inspired by fans’ creativity, and it’s a pretty savvy idea on Starbucks’ part. Not only does it legitimise a growing social media trend for choosing your own adventure at the coffee chain, but it will spur more online engagement as customers share their ideas in the hopes of theirs getting shared with the masses with a direct-order option.