The authors of an Arte documentary take a critical look behind the scenes of the international Starbucks coffee house chain and come to exciting insights.
- The success of the Starbucks coffee house chain is critically examined on TV in an Arte documentary .
- A journalist reports first-hand about everyday work at Starbucks.
- The business policy at Starbucks is tax avoidance and unhealthy coffee blends .
Strasbourg - a strange phenomenon: one- way packaging is considered chic. And this is especially the case for a clientele that is part of the new progressivism, in which environmental awareness, social ethics and cultural diversity come together. Or at least be put on display. We are talking about a nasty paper cup with a plastic coating that is used to transport coffee. And it becomes a status symbol when the Starbucks company logo is clearly visible in the front .
The authors Luc Hermann and Gilles Bobon highlight this aspect in their extensive documentary about Starbucks right from the start. Because this trick is the basis of the success of the coffee house chain , which today operates 28,000 branches worldwide at first-class locations.
Arte documentary on Starbucks coffee house chain on TV: In the sign of the bare-breasted mermaid
When the company was founded in Seattle in 1971, this development was not in sight. Three friends from college, a teacher, an author, an entrepreneur, had had enough of the flabby coffee that was common at the time. There was already a successful specialty shop for high-quality coffee beans in Berkeley . Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl imported the idea to Seattle, called their store Starbucks and chose the silhouette of a - then still nude - mermaid as their trademark.
Business flourished and the first branches were opened soon. The change came with the hiring of Howard D. Schultz in 1982. Schultz advocated serving freshly brewed coffee in the Starbucks stores . The founders were against it, sold their shares to Schultz and went their own way.
From an economic perspective, Schultz's restructuring proved to be correct. Thanks to sophisticated marketing strategies, he made Starbucks an internationally successful company and listed it on the stock exchange in 1992. His private wealth is estimated at $ 4 billion.
Arte documentary on Starbucks on TV: undercover under baristas
Schultz, who has already had ambitions to run for presidency, and other executives publicly represent positions that seem to match those of the targeted clientele. The key word is fairness. Fairly grown coffee , fair working conditions. Schultz repeatedly advocated a debt-free state budget. In this regard, it would be helpful if large corporations like Starbucks paid taxes . But they know how to avoid this, at least in Europe, as the French documentary filmmakers can demonstrate.
In lengthy, time-consuming research, they examined the truth of the coffee brewers' self-portrayal. Since the company's employees are not allowed to take a public position, one of the journalists involved has hired herself in a branch and reports firsthand about the everyday work of the so-called “ baristas ”.
Arte documentary on Starbucks on TV: sugar for health-conscious people
Starbucks has perfected what retail merchants already learn during their training: friendly approach to customers, simulation of personal attention, active selling. At the coffee bar, these are the special flavors, the special milk, the icing on the cake. Everything for a fee, of course. And very unhealthy in some cases. Nutritionists have found that coffee blends containing syrups and cold drinks can contain as much sugar as a can of cola.
These offers are also valued in social milieus, where there is otherwise great awareness of health and calories. And yet the customers - the example comes from Tours - spend hours in the cold to attend the opening of a new Starbucks branch and to get hold of a non-biodegradable cup. The disposal of which must be paid from the tax revenue ...
Themed evening on TV: Arte doesn't just show Starbucks documentaries
The ninety-minute documentary is nicely presented. The artist Cédric Cassimo, who normally works with sand, forms pictures from coffee powder and changes them continuously with quick little finger strokes, thus ensuring exciting and figurative commentary transitions. And most importantly, Starbucks is not a solitary appearance. Further conclusions can be drawn from the content of this film. On the business policies of global companies, on the manipulability of customers, on the contradictory consumer behavior of all of us.
Arte complements the themed evening with the documentaries "The System Milk" (9:50 p.m.) on the subject of dairy farming and "Poor Chicken - Poor Man" (11:20 p.m.) about global egg and chicken production.
By Harald Keller
"Starbucks unfiltered", 02.06.2020, 8.15 p.m., Arte
According to a television report about alleged child labor on Guatemalan coffee plantations, the president of the Central American country wants to introduce a law change. A movie was aired on Channel 4 on Monday night, allegedly showing how children in Guatemala harvest coffee that was destined for sale by the international brands Starbucks and Nespresso.
In Berlin and Hamburg, Starbucks customers have to pay more for their coffee. The coffee house has introduced fees on mugs.