Monday, March 8, 2010

Yo, Joe

I wanted to clean my cutting board which was white, but is now stained. I haven't been able to get it white again. So I looked it up on the internet and found I could clean it by rubbing a paste of salt and water onto it and letting it sit overnight.

After I rubbed the salt all over the cutting board, I had a bunch of it left over on my hands so I channeled Martha Stewart and got out the olive oil. I poured that on my hands with the salt and had myself a little impromptu salt scrub. Nice.

This morning, I had a similar Martha Stewart moment when I decided to use my leftover coffee grounds as a hand scrub. Again, nice. However, my hands got the jitters and everyone around me was craving a cup of joe.


And that's when I thought, Starbucks is missing a big opportunity. Instead of competing with 7-11's Big Gulp with the introduction of their new trenta, I think they should stay away from competing with McDonald's or 7-11, lest they become just like them.

No, I think they should differentiate by expanding into beauty products. Appeal to our vanity. Use the same addictive ingredients that make us come back over and over for a cup of overpriced coffee to make us want more of whatever beauty product they're hawking. Like baking chocolate chip cookies on the day of your Open House, they should be making hand creams that smell like mochas and whipped cream.

While I draw the line at $4 for a cup of coffee, there is apparently no limit when it comes to lotions and potions. I spend a ridiculous amount of money on such items and, for now, Starbuck's is missing out.

Pay attention.

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