Starbucks Reopens In Russia Under Revamped ‘Stars Coffee’ Branding
Image via Timati
Coffee addicts in Russia can soon pop by the joint around their corner for their caffeine fix again. Starbucks has returned under new hands—this time with all-new yet familiar branding.
The Seattle chain’s 130 cafés have been acquired by pro-Putin rapper Timati and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy. The pair have now opened the first location of the coffee shop now groundbreakingly renamed as Stars Coffee in Moscow. Presumably, the term “bucks” is too American.
Stars Coffee’s logo doesn’t deviate too far from the siren-fronting emblem of its predecessor. The Russian cousin’s facial features are slightly different, and instead of a crown, she’s sporting a Russian headdress known as a kokoshnik. The removal of the tails also suggests that she’s not a mermaid.
Images via Starbucks (1, 2) and Timati
Stars Coffee seems to have deliberately adapted from an older variation of the Starbucks logo—one with the “Starbucks Coffee” name that ran between 1992 and 2011—to create brand awareness. It’s also adopted a vibrant color palette of brown and robin’s egg blue.
The official Stars Coffee Instagram page pictures the logo among space-themed graphics, pushing hard on the Stars branding.
Russian news agency RBK, via Forbes, reports that Stars Coffee’s frappuccinos are known as “frappuccitos.” It’s unclear what other changes have been made to the American menu.
The overhaul comes in response to the mass exodus of numerous western companies who have called its quits in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Stars Coffee joins McDonald’s replacement Vkusno & Tochka, meaning Tasty & That’s It, as a direct alternative for locals missing the established brands.
All 130 locations previously helmed by Starbucks—90 in Moscow, 15 in St Petersburg, and 15 others across the nation—will soon begin operating under Stars Coffee.
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As per the Guardian, the rapper promises that “the millions of coffee lovers” in Russia will not be disappointed by Starbucks 2.0.
“We have a chance not just to change the sign, but to make a real-life case of a cool import substitution!”
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[via Forbes and The Guardian, images via various sources]
