A Starbucks coffee cup is seen outside a Starbucks coffeeshop in Washington, DC (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Grande

Cinnamon, Sharpies, and the 1990s: Brian Niccol’s plan to save Starbucks

The strategy? Make it 1997 again through science or magic.

10/31/24 2:25PM

Brian Niccol was hired to turn things around at Starbucks, and the new CEO is already bringing in some of that classic Niccol heat.

The former Chipotle boss, who oversaw the development of “Chipotlanes” (drive-throughs) and an 800% increase in the company’s share price from 2018 to 2024, has spent a sizable chunk of his first 52 days at Starbucks coming up with ideas to return the $110 billion global chain to its former glory.

A nonexhaustive list of those plans (which, perhaps notably, does not include changing or improving the taste of the coffee in any way whatsoever):

Buying 200,000 Sharpies to bring back handwritten names on cups
Replacing some metal chairs with comfy chairs (and possibly installing some warmer lightbulbs?)
Bringing back the condiment bar (i.e.: putting sugar, milk, and cinnamon out for customers to add themselves)
Serving to-stay coffee in ceramic mugs
Ending the olive-oil coffee thing that worked like a laxative
Nixing the alt-milk tax
Scaling back on limited-time-offer drinks like the Unicorn Frappuccino
Pivoting away from discounts but also freezing menu prices for the rest of the fiscal year

If most of these ideas sound like just Starbucks in 1998, that’s by design. Niccol said he wanted the chain to “reclaim the third place” vibe customers once associated with it and pivot back toward the idea of a community coffeehouse.

The test for Niccol and Starbucks will be if misspelling customer names (charming) and trusting customers with their own milk (homey) will be enough to snap three straight quarters of declining sales, cover its free fall in China, or make up for the nearly $250 million it spent fighting its workers’ unionization efforts (mostly unsuccessfully).

Justice Department accuses telehealth Zealthy of fraud, says remedy may bankrupt it

The feds say they don’t think Zealthy has the liquidity to pay what it owes customers.

J. Edward Moreno4/14/26

Hyunsoo Rim, J. Edward Moreno

bottling it

4/13/26

Americans aren’t drinking as much Mexican beer — that’s not been good for Constellation

The nation’s largest beer importer by sales just saw a 10-year growth streak come to an abrupt end.

Will investing in kids games finally make Netflix Games “the Netflix of games”?

Netflix is launching a game for preschoolers, its latest foray into stuff-you-play instead of stuff-you-watch.

Claire Yubin Oh4/10/26

Max Knoblauch4/9/26

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch4/9/26

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Three US airlines have already hiked baggage fees. More are likely on the way.