On social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, netizens often capture a storefront that is very similar to Starbucks and ask, "Is this really true
These stores sell products similar to Starbucks, in addition to regular latte coffee, as well as beverages such as "Star Ice". On the packaging of the product, the words "Starbucks Coffee Service" will be printed, and the logo will be almost identical to Starbucks' green mermaid. But as long as you pay attention, you will find that its English name is not "STARBUCKS", but "STARPER".
When you have questions about this English name, you will see some comments from netizens: "This is a coffee service authorized by Starbucks to Nestle and has opened up franchisees." "It's not fake, it's a franchise partner of Nestle.
In fact, the collaboration between Starbucks and Nestle is real, but such "STARPER" stores are counterfeit.
On November 8, Nestle's professional catering beverage WeChat official account released a statement saying that in view of the recent introduction and promotion of many "Starbucks Coffee Service" catering service solution franchises on the Internet, social media and short video platform, the company hereby strictly declares that the project does not open any form of franchise activities, and the introduction and promotion of third-party franchises are false information.
Nestle also directly named, but neither Gatar Supply Chain (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. nor Jiangsu Bohang Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. are authorized distributors of Nestle's "Starbucks Coffee Services" project.
Who is Li Gui?
The interface news reporter checked the Tianyancha APP and found that both the Gatar supply chain and Jiangsu Bohang supply chain mentioned in Nestle's aforementioned statement were established in 2021, and both applied for trademarks similar to "STARBUCKS". For example, Gatar applied for the "STARPER" trademark in 2023, covering categories such as advertising sales, beer and beverage, convenience food, catering and accommodation. Jiangsu Bohang applied for two trademarks, "STARKAY COFFEE" and "SHARPER", in 2023, for classification in catering and accommodation. At present, the above-mentioned trademarks are waiting for substantive review.
The recent batch of "STARPER" counterfeit Starbucks has actually illegally used the words "Starbucks Coffee Service" and Starbucks' green mermaid logo, which is a trademark infringement act.
The purpose of using the term "Starbucks Coffee Service" on products by the "STARPER" counterfeit store is to exploit a loophole in consumers' limited understanding of the business, to make them mistakenly believe that it is also a Starbucks authorized product.
What is the collaboration between Starbucks and Nestle?
The collaboration between Starbucks and Nestle is indeed a matter of fact. In May 2018, Nestle signed a permanent global license agreement for Starbucks retail and catering products.
Since then, Nestle has become a designated franchisee of Starbucks coffee products through designated channels. At present, the business cooperation between the two parties includes Starbucks capsules for Nespresso and Nescaf é Dolce Gusto systems, whole beans in home and catering service channels, roasted ground coffee and instant Starbucks coffee, K-Cup coffee capsules, creamers, ready to drink coffee, etc.
The aforementioned "Starbucks Coffee Service" is a business model launched in the Chinese market based on the aforementioned cooperation. This service is a coffee beverage solution developed in collaboration with Nestle and its directly authorized distributors through channels outside Starbucks stores. Starbucks Coffee Service is provided by directly authorized distributors to provide relevant equipment and promotional materials, as well as beverage ingredients, to service points outside the store.
However, it should be noted that this service does not provide Starbucks branded food and related derivatives.
Simply put, its model is that Nestle provides coffee machine equipment, Starbucks' coffee beans, and Nestle's milk to distributors, while distributors can sell some classic Starbucks products, such as American, Latte, and Forrest.
From the perspective of the scene, "Starbucks Coffee Service" usually appears in hotels, offices, hospitals, schools, and other places, mostly in the form of small bars, rather than having large independent stores like Starbucks.
According to the official information disclosed by Nestle at present, the "Starbucks Coffee Service" has opened up dealer applications in 55 cities across the country. Nestle emphasized in the statement that this business is currently not open to any form of franchise or agency, nor is there any form of brand co operation, nor is it allowed to directly authorize dealers to engage in any form of sub licensing behavior.
As it is a form of cooperation, Nestle stated that it has transferred the relevant actions to Starbucks China's intellectual property team, which has also sought help from government departments to combat such trademark infringement.
Fake stores are targeting Starbucks' blank market
By observing on social media platforms, it can be observed that the areas where counterfeit stores are frequently found are usually markets that have not yet been touched by legitimate Starbucks stores.
For example, there are currently no Starbucks stores open in Urumqi, Xinjiang, while "Li Gui" STARPER has taken the lead and opened in multiple local markets such as Hualing Market and Xinjiang Agricultural University, with the words "Starbucks Coffee Service" written on it; Similar STARPER shanzhai stores are also available in Linshui County, Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, Jianchang Ancient City, Xichang City, Sichuan Province, and Qingyang County, Chizhou City, Anhui Province.
The reason why "Li Gui" took advantage of this is mainly because in these places, consumers and franchisees may know "Starbucks" but are not familiar with the English names of its products and brands, thus mistakenly believing that it is the official business of Starbucks.
Starbucks is indeed sinking.
In the context of the gradual saturation of stores in China's first and second tier cities and the extreme inward competition of the coffee market, the importance of Starbucks' expansion to meet different groups and forms of service beyond its regular store business is self-evident. And it is no longer able to defend itself in first and second tier cities and instead sinking into more county markets - in addition to strengthening its layout in key cities, Starbucks plans to enter nearly 70 new cities by 2025, expanding its stores to 300 cities across the country.
Even though Starbucks has accelerated its pace of sinking, its sharp smelling counterfeit stores can often take advantage of the information asymmetry in new markets and seize the lead.
Not only Starbucks, but also in the catering industry, such copycat behavior is common.
For example, "Cha Yan Yue Se" and "Cha Yan Guan Se", "Fei Chef" and various chef brands with different surnames, as well as "Mi Xue Ice City" and "Mi Bing City", "Mi Wang Ice City", and "Mi Xue Ice Domain" who are trying every means to get involved... In the first half of 2021 alone, Mi Xue handled about 2500 infringement or copycat incidents. According to Tianyancha APP information, 40.5% of the 131 cases disclosed by it in the Honey Snow Ice City are related to trademark infringement disputes.
The purpose of shanzhai brand Dianci is, on the one hand, to use the influence of big brands to confuse concepts and attract customer flow. When consumers face a trademark, they actually recognize the goods pointed to behind the trademark, rather than the specific operators and producers. On the other hand, there is also a possibility of using big brand signs to attract franchisees without authorization, and in the current trend of many direct brand franchisees opening up, such loophole behavior is prone to occur.