- Starbucks' new campaign promotes ready-made drinks as outrageous orders keep overwhelming baristas.
- The campaign for canned and bottled drinks includes a TikTok challenge with Chance the Rapper.
- TikTok trends have been behind some of the lengthy order customizations the chain has seen recently.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Starbucks has launched a campaign to promote ready-made drinks as baristas continue to be bombarded with outrageous order customizations.
The "Made Ready" campaign is inspired by Starbucks' canned and bottled coffees, according to a press release announcing its launch on Monday. The company is collaborating with Chance the Rapper on the campaign, which includes a TikTok challenge "inviting customers to duet with him and share their 'Made Ready moment,'" the release says.
Three winners will get a personalized shout-out from Chance, a mini-fridge, and a one-year supply of Starbucks' canned and bottled coffees. One grand prize winner will have a live video chat with Chance where he'll "hype them up for their next big moment." The contest runs from Monday to July 11, and winners will be notified in August.
The launch of the campaign coincides with growing frustration over a wave of customers making lengthy orders that are overwhelming baristas and holding up lines. Some of the heavily customized orders are inspired by viral TikTok trends, including one that draws attention to secret menu items. Starbucks workers say mobile orders are pouring in "a mile a minute" with lengthy customizations to boot since the company allows unlimited customizations through mobile ordering.
Starbucks stood by its unlimited policy despite a barista tweeting a photo in May showing a long list of specifications a customer requested for their drink. The barista captioned the picture "On today's episode of why I wanna quit my job" and was later fired. Responding to the viral tweet, Starbucks told Fox News, "Customizing beverages at Starbucks and our baristas' expertise in helping customers find and craft the right beverage has and always will be the heart of the Starbucks Experience. There are many ways for customers to modify their favorite beverage at Starbucks and most customizations are reasonable requests from customers."
A company spokesperson recently told Insider that locations that frequently receive these time-consuming orders are "not illustrative of the customer and partner experience in a majority of our stores."
There are more than 170,000 ways to customize Starbucks drinks, according to a company blog post.