I think of Starbucks as a cultural institution with coffee as its delivery mechanism. The Starbucks brand itself caused a lot of people to drink coffee (in what

I think of Starbucks as a cultural institution with coffee as its delivery mechanism. The Starbucks brand itself caused a lot of people to drink coffee (in whatever watered-down form) who weren't otherwise coffee drinkers before. It's a lot like how the Apple brand and the iPod made music a bigger part of people's lives where previously the headphone and cassette player combo was typically reserved for the gym. I think Starbucks could have sold tea (or if they started today, cannabis) and still enjoyed the same success. The frozen jugs of coffee-flavored whipped cream aren't the trend anymore because Starbucks isn't.