Starbucks is on a roll this year.
Starbucks started a trend
Who could forget Starbuck’s Unicorn Frappuccino release in April? Or its recent Secret Menu slew of ombre drinks? And on June 13th, the funky drink powerhouse announced its partnership with Lady Gaga. Now, through June 19th, the company will donate 25 cents from each sale of its “Cups of Kindness” collection to Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.
No matter how you feel about Starbucks’ increasingly insane drink menu—I’m a black coffee enthusiast who thinks a latte is too fancy—you’ve got to give it up to the company’s marketing and drink-making team.
So, it was only a matter of time until other coffee shops and restaurants jumped on the eye-catching drink trend.
Local’s Corner, an Australian cafe, is one such coffee house. The coffee shop recently posted a picture of its “signature” carrot latte—a latte housed in a carrot in lieu of a coffee mug, and its orange latte plopped inside an orange peel.
I reached out to the coffee house for comment about its mysterious produce drinks, but have yet to hear back. But even though I don’t really know why these drinks exist, I at least want to take a stab at making sense out of these mind-boggling beverages.
1. It’s about attention—plain and simple
Weird drinks get snaps, clicks, likes, and hearts. So, the stranger the drink, the more clicks, right?
Well, this theory is mostly correct.
A recent American Express Restaurant Trade Survey discovered that Millennials who use social media to post pictures of food are snapping at a super high rate. Seventy-two percent post about their restaurant experience on social media and 25 percent will post photos of their meal or drink.
Restauranteurs are well aware of this trend. The survey discovered that 83 percent of restaurateurs view social media as “having a very or somewhat positive impact on their business” and “a majority use some type of social media promotion for their business.”
2. Maybe it’s about the packaging…
All of us at EcoSalon appreciate a business that is aware of its carbon footprint. So, maybe—just maybe—these drinks are a way to cut back on non-bio resources.
Think about it—restaurants could easily compost carrots and orange peels. These cups could help cut down on water use and trash. Not such a crazy idea after all, huh?
3. Perhaps a barista just wanted to have a little fun
Let’s face it—work is super boring sometimes. We totally wouldn’t blame a barista for getting creative on the job.
Well, this is likely the real reason behind the shop’s crazy lattes.
A recent Daily Mail Australia article reports that the cafe owner just likes to be… different.
“We just like doing different things, we’ve being doing a few of these, one with an apple, one with an avocado, this week was a carrot and next week we will do something different,” Vanja says.
Fair enough. You can’t blame us for daydreaming, though.
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