Attention hipsters and wannabe hipsters: the price of your finely crafted Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) caffeinated beverage is going up.
Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz, who has lead a remarkable turnaround at the Seattle-based company, feels your pain. He really does but those frappuccinos with soy milk don’t make themselves. That’s especially true with green arabica coffee at a 13-year high.
“ver the last six months a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry,” said Schultz says in a press release. “And while many, if not most, coffee roasters and retailers began raising prices months ago, we have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers. But the extreme nature of the cost increases has made it untenable for us to continue to do so and we have been forced to take the steps we announced today.”
Trendoids and caffeine freaks do have alternatives. Starbucks expects to maintain and even lower the price of some of its most popular beverages, including its popular $1.50 tall brewed coffee. There’s also Via, the company’s surprisingly good instant coffee. The truly desperate may resort to chugging Diet Coke in the afternoon.
Support groups are being established for cash-strapped java junkies.
–Jonathan Berr
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