The holiday season is arriving in New York and less than a week into November, Starbucks has released its festive holiday menu and cups.
Among this year’s holiday merchandise debuts is the Glass Starbucks Bearista Cold Cup, a $30 glass bear-shaped cup that has taken the internet by storm, as Starbucks stores run out of this viral tumbler in under 24 hours.
Made of glass, this mini teddy bear cup comes with a green beanie and straw in green and white stripes. Customers lined up outside locations of the Seattle-based coffee chain as early as 4 a.m. on Nov. 6, in some cases, to get their hands on this viral cup — only for many to wind up being turned away.
Rob Pepp got up at 3 am on Nov. 6 and pulled up to a Starbucks nearby in Staten Island for a cup. The content creator had a feeling that there would be people in line for the Starbucks Bearista Cup that was launched for this holiday season. Pepp was happy to find another person already waiting in line for the cup and realized that he wasn’t the only crazy one to wake up this early for a cup!
“I only visited one store. I knew it wasn’t worth driving to other stores after my store only got 1 cup,” added Pepp. One of Pepp’s friends from Indiana was able to secure a Bear Cup for him, and if he happens to stumble upon a bear cup during the next launch, he said that he would consider buying it for a friend or family member.
The Bearista cup is now being resold on eBay for as much as $399. When asked if Pepp would be willing to buy the cup at such a lofty price, the content creator said, “Absolutely not. In this economy!!”
Customers who have found themselves shut out of the special glass took their displeasure to social media.
“Hey @Starbucks glad I woke up at 4 am to go to your store for the new bear cup to be told the only one they had an employee purchased. Sick system.” said Brian Kaplan, a user on X.
Several users allegedly complained on social media that the Starbucks employees were buying the bearista cup for themselves even before opening the store.
“I did not see anything with my own eyes, but I did hear some gossip from Starbucks employees that I’m friendly with.” Pepp believes the rumors are true.
Starbucks had to publicly apologize to fans for the low supply amid high demand.
“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations and despite shipping more Bearista cups to coffeehouses than almost any other merchandise item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast,” said a spokesperson from Starbucks to Fortune in apology to this unprecedented fervor from customers.
Among the coffee giant’s holiday collection is a collaboration with Hello Kitty, which will be available for the first time in North America. They were previously partnered in 2024 to commemorate the iconic Sanrio character’s 50th anniversary, but the partnership was limited to Starbucks’ 13 Asian Pacific markets.
Performance drops
At $85.16 in the first week of November 2025, the price of Starbucks (SBUX) suffers a 12% drop from last year’s performance at $97.55
Mizuho Financial Group is skeptical that investments in an improved SBUX experience alone will suffice in convincing customers to pay for Starbucks premium. “We lower our F26 SSS growth estimate to 2.9% from 3.5%”, mentions Mizuho in their October 2025 Analyst Report.
Due to the pressure of tariffs and plans of restructuring in the beginning of this fall, the coffee chain had shut down over 450 stores in North America, with 34 alone in New York. In continuation of the restructure plan, Starbucks also announced its plan to sell 60% of its stake in its second-largest market, Starbucks China, to Boyu Capital, a Chinese private equity firm, in a $4 billion deal this week.
“All indications show me the competitive environment is extreme, the macro environment is tough, and we need to figure out how we grow in the market now and into the future,” said Brian Niccol, two months into his position as CEO of Starbucks in an October 2024 earnings call.
One of the major challenges faced by Starbucks China was the emerging economic competitors like Luckin Coffee, which recently launched 5 locations in New York, targeting North America as their next possible expansion.
Started in 2011, Boyu Capital runs a diversified portfolio that includes tech giants like Alibaba Group and Singapore-based Genesis Medtech. “Strategic response to market challenges. Starbucks has been facing heavy competition, with Luckin Coffee having outpaced its store expansion more than two years ago”, said Alison Fok, a Primary Analyst for DBS.
Unlike the capitalist economy, where a $30 Bearista cup is making Americans wake up at 3 am to get in line, the price-sensitive consumers in China will hesitate to do so when they have Luckin Coffee at half the cost. DBS Bank initiated a negative analyst move by degrading (SBUX) from a “hold” to “strong sell” last week.
“By partnering with Boyu, a well-connected local private equity firm, Starbucks aims to accelerate store expansion, especially into lower-tier Chinese cities, and localize products to bolster competitiveness”, adds Fok.
Through this partnership, Starbucks China hopes to expand its chain from 8,000 to over 20,000 locations across different cities. The marketing campaign of Starbucks China has previously featured creative collaborations with Zootopia, Peanuts and Yunnan rural artists. The Bearista cups, however, were limited to the U.S. and Canada, the fifth-largest market of the coffee giant.
As the U.S. and China, the two largest markets of this Seattle-based coffee chain, are put to the test amidst trade and political tensions between the two economies, this holiday season looks less sweet than before.
