We know that teenagers love their Strawberry Acai Refreshers, Caramel Frappuccinos and cakes from Starbucks. But the coffee chain is so deeply integrated into the lives of teenagers that they don’t just use it as a place to fill their mornings and hang out: They use it as currency.
That’s one of the findings of a new report from Cafeteria, an app that pays teenagers for brand insights. Teens don’t pay each other with cash, Cash App or Venmo. Instead of actually handing over dollars, they swap Starbucks lattes, cold beers and deckchairs when they owe each other, 30.7% of teens said they’d offer to pay “next time.” The coffee giant was the only brand used by teenagers to settle down.
Starbucks is the number one coffee destination for teenagers and the number two restaurant (behind Chic-fil-A). Given how often teenagers hit up the coffee chain, it makes a lot of sense that they would rely on it to balance their finances. Of course, teens still pay each other in other ways: 23.9% use Venmo to send money they’ve borrowed to a friend, while some still use the old method, and 22.8% give cash. But Starbucks orders are the “last IOU,” according to the Cafeteria report.
The brand is so popular among teenagers that the demographic often knows their best friend’s Starbucks order. In a series of questions called the “True Friend Test,” Cafeteria asked teenagers what their best friends order. A whopping 89% knew their best friend’s drink right down to its size, milk and drizzle.
Teenagers also have their favorite dishes at the chain. According to 13.5% of teens surveyed, Starbucks is not just for coffee or refunds, but also a lunch staple: grilled cheese. Teens called the selection their favorite menu item at the chain.
“It’s literally the best thing on the menu,” one 17-year-old woman said in the report. “And then I’ll obviously have it with a piece of cake.”
Missing out on limited-time offers is a key driver behind teenage spending, which Starbucks is tapping into with holiday drinks and new Wicked-themed drinks: Glinda’s Pink Potion and Elphaba’s Cold Brew. (Such offers also make for solid social media posts, a huge boost for that demographic.) But it’s not the only brand with a rotating menu that creates a sense of urgency for teens. Crumble, the maker of giant cookies whose flavors rotate weekly, is hot right now (even if most of the cookies are cold), according to the report. When asked what teenagers’ “must try” brands were, it was the only food brand. Crumble has become a huge success online as teenagers try and rank their favorite cookies. Many even try them to hate the new flavors in scathing reviews on sites like Reddit.
The cafeteria report demonstrates teenagers’ obsession with ultra-popular brands like Starbucks and Crumble. But he also highlights up-and-coming brands in what he calls “pre-trends.” In the retail industry, he cites a few of the “soon-to-be-popular” brands, including Puma, Hey Dude, GymShark and Princess Polly. When it comes to beauty, skip Sephora: Merit, Tarte, and Ouai are among the next big makeup brands to capture teenagers.
The cafeteria app asks teenagers to weigh in on their favorite brands and pays them for their opinions in return. It describes itself as “a direct connection between brands and teenagers, driving a unique and original creative economy”. He says he’s pitched top brands as well as startups that want teens to hear their voices to improve their brands for a teen audience.