The University of Iowa will slowly remove Starbucks products from Food for Thought Cafe and other locations as a new vendor replaces them: Canteen.<\/p>\n
Students who visited the Food for Thought Cafe in the first week of classes may have seen a sign explaining Starbucks would no longer be serving inside the campus.<\/p>\n
Director of Dining Services Don Stanwick said the UI contracts with vendors, and those contracts typically last between one and three years.<\/p>\n
However, if the partnership is amicable for the company, then there are a limited number of one-year renewals allowed by the UI, about five or six, before the contract expires.<\/p>\n
This gives the company some freedom to adjust or pull contracts based on performance. It also gives other companies the chance to make deals, so there is variety in the system, he said.<\/p>\n
Right now, the UI is transitioning from using Starbucks as a main vendor to Canteen, a workplace food and drink vending firm. The Starbucks contract officially ended May 31, but students are still getting their daily Starbucks.<\/p>\n
\u201cStarbucks has been a wonderful partner, and they\u2019ve allowed us to continue doing stuff throughout the summer and keeping equipment and everything up through the middle of September, as we transition,\u201d Stanwick said.<\/p>\n
Over the next few weeks, students should expect to see Canteen products replace their usual Starbucks drinks. Canteen has already replaced Starbucks in the marketplaces and dining halls with drip coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been running out of the Starbucks product that we currently have, and then we\u2019ll be filling in some of the new products with the black and bold coffee, with the tea elixirs, with the espressos as we bring that into the university over the next couple weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stanwick said he is excited for the new products that will be sold, celebrating the new vendor and the options it will bring to students. He thinks apple harvest, turmeric, and ginger apple are interesting flavors that students will enjoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really kind of excited to try those,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Not only is Stanwick excited about Canteen\u2019s new flavors, but also about the company\u2019s contract with a coffee brand: Black and Bold. He particularly liked this coffee brand because they are a local roaster based in Des Moines, and they give back to students and children in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a really strong program, and we\u2019re really excited to bring them onto campus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the shakeup in vendor options, Stanwick said prices will stay relatively the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not sitting there to raise prices or do anything differently in terms of that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just really kind of what the market dictates and what the company charges for the product, and that\u2019s how we set our prices, but we should be right in line with what you see as Starbucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Second-year nursing student Anja Miller noticed the announcement and slow transition into the Canteen vendor when she visited Food for Thought last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here, and I didn\u2019t know they were removing it until I saw the sign,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a sign out here during welcome week that said, \u2018We no longer are going to have Starbucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
First-year pre-dentistry major Torbjorn Leraand said he was distraught after finding out about the removal. However, he got over his emotions quickly and noted he liked ordering Starbucks at Food for Thought Cafe because of the convenience and not the coffee itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say as long as they still serve coffee, I\u2019ll still be visiting,\u201d he said. \u201cLike, does it have to be Starbucks coffee? Wherever\u2019s convenient. The library is pretty convenient, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller shared similar notions as Leraand about the convenience of Starbucks being served on campus, but the removal of the brand makes getting the product a hindrance to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that big a deal,\u201d she said. \u201cI normally don\u2019t want to go up the hill to the actual Starbucks store.\u201d<\/p>\n
First-year political science major Iris Oviedo had an opposite view to Leraand and Miller\u2019s stance on convenience. However, she shared in Miller\u2019s brand loyalty. As someone who only gets coffee once a week, she would rather go to a different coffee place than buy coffee from a new vendor at Food for Thought Cafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s other coffee shops around. I\u2019ll just start drinking water or buying bottled drinks, too.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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