Starbucks CONCEPTS

Cold POP

A newly-opened innovation lab at the Starbucks global headquarters allowed for quick testing of new holistic concepts in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. Cold Pop opened as a fully operational pop up store in this lab environment focused around curated cold craft beverages targeted towards a younger audience.

CONCEPT
& PROCESS

With a shoe-string budget and three weeks from concept to store-open, Cold Pop was a collaborative sprint effort bringing together team members from design, marketing, branding, operations, and food and beverage innovation to explore innovative cold craft beverages in a completely new service model. Traditionally relegated to the backline, this concept shifted the cold bar to the frontline allowing for conversation and storytelling around beverage craft leaning on notions of mixology.

Open for a period of three months as a pop up within the global headquarters, Cold Pop tested a rotating series of sixteen beverages along with a curated selection of limited, international offerings. The design takes inspiration from the notion of a “vacation from the everyday” with a light-hearted color palette and references to the seemingly endless summer vacations of childhood. Guests walk past an Instagram-worthy ball-pit and through “dripping” OSB painted panels and are greeted by a bar that breaks the traditional queue entirely. Custom and tailored beverages such as the Coconut Lime Coffee-soda and the Gingered Cold Brew Banana Stack range from chilled to frozen and are served in frosted for-here glassware. A selection of international bottled beverages housed in the “chill room” walk-in freezer with mirrored walls offers customers the opportunity to taste flavors from around the world.