A decade ago, if you'd stopped someone on the street and asked what they thought the most popular coffee shop was, chances are their answer would be Starbucks. However, in recent years, the tides have changed. Now, there's a strong chance their answer wouldn't be Starbucks—it'd be Blank Street.

Despite only emerging in 2020, Blank Street stores have quickly become a staple in cities across both the United States and Britain. It's become increasingly normal to see young people walking around with sage green Blank Street cups, instead of the iconic white and green Starbucks cups.

So why has Blank Street sky-rocketed in popularity?

Image Credit: Roy Katzenberg from Wikimedia

1. More Affordable Prices

Blank Street is by no means the cheapest coffee shop on the high street. However, its prices are better than Starbucks's—something its owners are keenly aware of. Vinay Menda, one of the company's co-founders, noted that "we're about 25% to 35% cheaper than Starbucks on espresso." He added that the company wants "to be Starbucks for the next generation" but with "better quality, lower prices."

Part of the reason Blank Street is able to lower its prices is that its stores are small and therefore cheaper to rent. While this means there's no room for customers to sit around with their drinks, it does mean they're walking away with drinks that are cheaper than those found in Starbucks.

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2. Convenience

While Blank Street's queues are often long, the drinks themselves are swiftly concocted. This is down to the automatic machines Blank Street uses. Amongst their menu, matcha is produced from a pre-made formula instead of whisked in front of you, and their cold brew is made at a central facility, rather than in-store as is the norm in coffee shops like Starbucks.

While some coffee fans argue that this leads to lower-quality drinks, it's undeniably convenient for people in a rush who want a dose of caffeine before heading into a long day of work or school.

3. Trendiness

In recent years, drinking Starbucks has become increasingly less fashionable. It's widely associated with people's cringy pre-teen phase when, alongside a unicorn onesie, they'd clutch a bright Starbucks frappuccino.

In contrast, Blank Street is seen as Gen Z's cool girl coffee brand. It's no coincidence that the brand has risen in popularity at the same time as matcha. Unsurprisingly, matcha is one of their best-selling drinks. The company plays to its popularity and releases new, creative flavours seasonally.

For example, UK Blank Street is currently offering two spring drinks: strawberry shortcake and rhubarb and custard. These drinks are doing the rounds on social media, with influencers conducting reviews that are getting thousands of views and creating hype for the company.

4. Aesthetic

Alongside the launch of these seasonal drinks, Blank Street released ads carefully designed to appeal to their Gen Z audience. Their strawberry shortcake ad played on nostalgic girlhood spring days. It featured girls sitting around a picnic mat at the park. A Brittney Spears song played in the background, while pink jewelled phones and lip glosses were scattered around the drinks.

Unsurprisingly, the ad was well-received. Comments included 'oh, your marketing needs a raise' and 'they know their target audience'.

Aside from seasonal campaigns, the stores themselves are designed to attract young people. Their logo is a trendy sage green featuring the words Blank Street in white block letters. The stores are likewise minimalistic and fit the 'clean girl' aesthetic that is highly popular amongst Gen Z.

Image Credit: Dominika Poláková from Pexels

Which Company is Worth it?

Of course, just because Blank Street appears more popular amongst young people, doesn't mean it's necessarily better.

The company has its controversies. As mentioned, some take issue with the fact the company does not handmake its drinks. Also, while the drinks are cheaper than those found at Starbucks, this isn't to say that they're cheap. Likely, if you visited a handful of independent coffee shops, you'd find at least one offering cheaper drinks than Blank Street.

Still, Blank Street is undeniably popular among young people. While it has nowhere near as many stores as Starbucks does worldwide, this may not always be the case. It's fair to assume that while Gen Z's favorite coffee shop still sports a green logo, it may be fading from Starbucks's emerald to Blank Street's sage green.