About 300,000 bottles of Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino were recalled recently. The reason was that the containers might have small glass pieces. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the warning. It is an example of how one brand can be hurt by the actions of another. Pepsico makes the product and is the real culprit. That will be lost on most people.
Even the FDA warning is confusing. The warning says the product is “Starbucks frappuccino Vanilla. Chilled Coffee Drink.” Buried deeper in the warning is that the “recalling firm” is PepsiCo. How many people read FDA documents closely? The answer is “close to no one.”
Starbucks has no recourse. It cannot force Pepsi to spend millions of dollars on educating the public. Pepsis gets off the hook. People who go to Starbucks will only remember a potentially dangerous problem.
Brand values are sensitive. According to Interbrand, Pepsi is the 32nd most valuable brand at $19.6 billion. Starbucks is 53rd at $16 billion. Brand values can fall hard. The same list posted the erosion of Facebook and Intel. Each of these was based on a series of negative incidents.
Starbucks’ brand will not take a hit anywhere near what Facebook and Intel did. But the effects of the Vanilla Frappuccino will not be negligible. And Pepsi dodged a bullet.
(These are the Starbucks capitals of America.)
Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts
Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.
It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.
We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
