• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Retailcrowd sourcing

Why Starbucks’ Christmas Cups Are Special This Year

By
Dominique Rowe
Dominique Rowe
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dominique Rowe
Dominique Rowe
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 10, 2016, 12:25 AM ET

After last year’s minimalist red cup caused a not-so-festive storm, Starbucks (SBUX) has opted for a more decorative approach to this year’s Christmas coffee cups.

Featuring 13 more traditionally festive designs, the cups were created by 13 women from six countries, including the U.S, Indonesia, Dubai, Canada, Russia and South Korea. By choosing several motifs, the company has for the first time abandoned its 24-year-old one-cup campaign approach, Mashable reports.

“This year, […] we decided to do something quite different,” said CEO Howard Schultz to a crowd at the official launch in Manhattan on Wednesday. “With everything that’s going on in the world, and everything that’s going on in our country, we have a lot to be thankful for,” he said, on the same day that Donald Trump was elected President.

The highly decorative red and white cups were picked from a crowd-sourced selection of over 1,000 customer designs on Instagram last year, and will officially hit 25,000 Starbucks locations in 75 counties on Nov. 10.

Starbucks unveils 2016 holiday red cups https://t.co/ZVy32ZUCHI Meet the designers too https://t.co/fo4rBYYiOR #RedCups pic.twitter.com/oMgV510Hr3

— Starbucks News (@StarbucksNews) November 9, 2016

 

Earlier this week, Fortune’s Lucinda Shen reported that aside from the 13 cups, the coffee giant would also be standing by its non-denominational plain red cup — only this year, with a customer-friendly sweetener: anyone who orders a holiday drink from Nov. 10-14 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. will get a free holiday drink.

For more on Starbucks, watch Fortune’s video:

“We hope that this year’s red holiday cup designs express the shared spirit of the holidays as told by our customers,” said Starbucks’ global chief marketing officer Sharon Rothstein in a press release.

About the Author
By Dominique Rowe
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Retail

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Lists Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Lists Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Retail

Nike’s ‘Walkers Tolerated’ sign at the Boston Marathon was meant to fire up runners. Instead, it insulted them
RetailMarketing
Nike’s ‘Walkers Tolerated’ sign at the Boston Marathon was meant to fire up runners. Instead, it insulted them
By Phil WahbaApril 20, 2026
1 day ago
mississippi
RetailMississippi
Mississippi alcohol community roiled by liquor, wine delay from state warehouse failure
By Sophie Bates, Adrian Sainz and The Associated PressApril 18, 2026
4 days ago
trump
CommentaryManufacturing
Tariffs alone won’t save American manufacturing — here’s what actually will
By Johan "Kip" EidebergApril 18, 2026
4 days ago
Food companies are finally cutting prices. PepsiCo shows it’s worth it
EconomyFortune 500
Food companies are finally cutting prices. PepsiCo shows it’s worth it
By Phil WahbaApril 17, 2026
5 days ago
Anita Beveridge-Raffo is Head of Retail and Consumer Goods at Palantir Technologies
CommentaryAI agents
Palantir exec: the biggest mistake retailers are making with AI? Trying to do it all with one agent
By Anita Beveridge-RaffoApril 16, 2026
5 days ago
Woman drinking coffee
AIConsumers
Starbucks wants you to ask ChatGPT about what coffee to get, right as America boils over with AI backlash vibes
By Tristan BoveApril 15, 2026
6 days ago

Most Popular

$166 billion in tariff refunds just became available, but small businesses may already be at a disadvantage
Law
$166 billion in tariff refunds just became available, but small businesses may already be at a disadvantage
By Sasha RogelbergApril 20, 2026
1 day ago
Jeff Bezos once gave Eva Longoria and the admiral behind Osama bin Laden's capture $100 million—but she says you don't need wealth to give back
Success
Jeff Bezos once gave Eva Longoria and the admiral behind Osama bin Laden's capture $100 million—but she says you don't need wealth to give back
By Orianna Rosa RoyleApril 21, 2026
18 hours ago
This talent CEO says laid-off tech workers are ignoring a $300K ‘white-collar trade job’ with 81K openings a year
Economy
This talent CEO says laid-off tech workers are ignoring a $300K ‘white-collar trade job’ with 81K openings a year
By Jake AngeloApril 20, 2026
1 day ago
Meet John Ternus, the 51-year-old former swimming champ who will succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEO
Big Tech
Meet John Ternus, the 51-year-old former swimming champ who will succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEO
By Dave Smith and Fortune EditorsApril 20, 2026
1 day ago
Thousands of CEOs admit AI had no impact on employment or productivity—and it has economists resurrecting a paradox from 40 years ago
AI
Thousands of CEOs admit AI had no impact on employment or productivity—and it has economists resurrecting a paradox from 40 years ago
By Sasha RogelbergApril 19, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, April 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, April 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerApril 20, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.