Dunkin’ Donuts (DNKN) released its cups for the holiday season, and they may be inadvertently stirring up a previous controversy around Starbucks’ own design.
The cups have the word “Joy” on them, and their introduction comes after Starbucks (SBUX) decided to go with a much plainer cup this season, which caused an uproar among customers.
Dunkin’ Donuts said it did not redesign its cups based on the controversy. Scott Hudler, vice president of global consumer engagement for Dunkin’ Brands told Fortune in an email that “this particular design was planned several months ago” and not reimagined due to Starbucks’ cup.
“For many years Dunkin’ Donuts has served coffee in festive cups featuring the word ‘joy’ as part of our annual celebration of the season and holiday offerings,” Hudler said. “We believe this conveys the happiness and spirit of the holiday season in a way that resonates with our guests,” he added.
Customers on Twitter both praised the Dunkin’ Donuts design and compared it to the Starbucks cup:
@Starbucks The taste of this coffee is away better than Starbucks and it has a colorful cup. #dunkindonuts 💂🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/jL2rEJZj3r
— Ąz♡õoõ♡z (@3zah23) November 11, 2015
https://twitter.com/Jenni_Marie8819/status/664072606706978816
@DunkinDonuts debuted their holiday cup. Finally a company with some true holiday spirit. pic.twitter.com/iCOn2gtdbv
— Chicago Joe Schuller, n.S.M (@chicagoschuller) November 12, 2015
Update: Dunkin’ Brands confirmed in an email to Fortune that the holiday cup designs were planned months ago and not released in light of the recent Starbucks controversy.