Starbucks Announces Free Reusable Red Cups After Bearista Craze

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Starbucks is ready to spread some holiday cheer.

The coffee chain faced some disappointment when their popular Bearista cups quickly sold out, but they’re trying to please customers again with Red Cup Day on November 13th.

On Wednesday, Starbucks customers who order a holiday drink—such as the popular Peppermint Mocha or Caramel Brulée Latte—will get a free, limited-edition reusable red cup for 2025. The cup’s design, created by artist Yvonne Chan, is meant to bring a little holiday cheer to everyone.

Chan explained in a press release on November 12th that the design was meant to recreate the cozy feeling of entering a warm Starbucks on a cold day. He aimed to capture the sense of a personal, handmade gift with the sketch.

Customers who use this cup – or any reusable cup – will get a 10-cent discount on future drinks. Plus, Starbucks Rewards members will earn twice the stars with their purchase.

The coffee chain said they’re distributing more red cups this year than ever before, probably to prevent the same overwhelming demand they saw with the Bearista cups. Last time, those bear-themed cups – which included a matching green and white reusable straw and beanie – sold out so quickly, Starbucks had to apologize.

As a huge Starbucks fan, I was so thrilled to see how quickly the new Bearista cups flew off the shelves! Starbucks actually said in a statement that the demand was way higher than they ever predicted. They shipped out more of these adorable cups than almost anything else this season, but even with that, they still sold out incredibly fast, along with a few other popular items. It was crazy!

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve been following the buzz around the Bearista cup, and I wanted to share what Starbucks said about the situation. They acknowledged the excitement around it and sincerely apologized to anyone who was disappointed they couldn’t get their hands on one. It’s always good to see a company address customer feelings, and they definitely did that here.

They announced they’ll have even more new products available for the holidays, including a collaboration with Roller Rabbit that will be available starting December 2nd.

Even if you miss Red Cup Day or the Roller Rabbit collection, Starbucks still has a lot of cute merchandise available, including a red ribbon tumbler, a gold-speckled tumbler, and a festive green Christmas mug with a Christmas tree-shaped handle.

If you prefer seasonal drinks, you can currently enjoy popular choices like the Sugar Cookie Latte, Peppermint Hot Chocolate, and Ice Sugar Cookie Breve, all served in their special holiday cups.

The designs on coffee cups are constantly improving, and looking back at older versions really shows how far they’ve come.

Starbucks released four holiday cup designs for 2025 with classic red and green plaid and bow patterns. However, the most popular item was a special cup featuring a ‘bearista’ – it sold out incredibly quickly!

Starbucks reported to People magazine that demand for their holiday merchandise was surprisingly high. The popular Bearista cups, and a few other items, sold out quickly, even though they shipped more of the cups to stores than almost any other product this season.

The company acknowledged the excitement around the Bearista cup and expressed their apologies for any disappointment caused.

Starbucks embraced groovy, retro-inspired designs with mint green and pink for the holiday season.

The holiday design features charming graphics like vintage ornaments and peppermints on cups and other items. A wavy pattern based on the iconic Starbucks siren is used as a decorative edge on hot cups, and baristas can write personalized messages on small badge-like areas on the back of each cup.

Get ready for the holidays with our four new hot cup designs, each featuring a touch of pink! They are Ribbon Spool, Bauble Wrap, Peppermint Swirl, and Party Plaid – arranged clockwise from the top left.

Kristy Cameron, creative director at Starbucks, explained that their team noticed a trend towards vibrant and cheerful colors while planning this year’s holiday season. She noted that adding magenta to the classic holiday shades of red and green brightens the overall palette and makes the red appear more vivid.

Last year, Starbucks offered four festive holiday cup designs – Gift-Wrapped Magic, Frosted Sparkle, Ornament Wonder, and Cozy Evergreen – for customers to enjoy their seasonal drinks in.

Starbucks views its cups as small tokens of appreciation,” explained Gary Jacobson, the company’s creative director. “We want customers and employees alike to feel like they’re receiving a special holiday gift.”

To bring the joy of the holidays to life, the designers incorporated classic elements like sparkles, ornaments, and snowflakes, along with cheerful colors – a refreshing mint green and a festive red – to create a warm and inviting coffee accessory perfect for enjoying all season long.

These cups came in classic red, green, and white, with a touch of frosty lilac. What made them especially special was the inclusion of small gift tags, allowing people to write a personal message with each cup.

This year, Starbucks aimed to create a holiday experience that felt special, welcoming, and joyful for everyone, both customers and employees,” explained Suzie Reecer, the company’s associate creative director.

The brand’s 2020 theme, “Carry the Merry,” was showcased in four main designs: Ribbon, Dot, Sparkle, and Brand Wrap. Two of the design examples actually included the theme’s name.

Starbucks’ creative director, Jeff Wilkson, explained that the idea behind this year’s cup designs was to create something people would carry with them and share a little happiness with others. He hoped each order would be a small, positive moment for customers to enjoy.

Starbucks’ holiday cups in 2019 embraced a maximalist approach, offering four designs: polka dots, a playful dance scene, striped patterns, and candy cane stripes. The company said the vibrant and colorful designs were intended to bring small moments of happiness to customers and partners, creating a fun and festive Starbucks experience.

Oh my gosh, Starbucks totally nailed the holiday cup designs this year! They launched four new ones, and everyone seems to LOVE them. It’s like they took all the best parts of past cups and gave them a fresh, vintage makeover – the colors and patterns are just perfect. But the BEST part? They finally introduced a reusable holiday cup! I’m obsessed with collecting them, and getting 50 cents off my grande latte every time I bring it in? Genius! I’m already planning all my visits just to show it off and save a little money. It’s the little things, you know?

Starbucks released its holiday cup that year with a focus on personalization, explaining they’d designed it to be decorated by customers. They encouraged people to add their own designs and make each cup unique.

This year, Starbucks’ holiday cups weren’t just about the 12 days of Christmas – it was all about the 13 designs created by customers! People from six different countries submitted artwork featuring classic holiday images like lights, snowflakes, and trees.

This wasn’t a holiday cup in the traditional sense, but it still sparked online discussion. After the 2015 cup controversy, Starbucks introduced this green, mosaic-patterned design. It featured over 100 interconnected figures – including baristas, coffee farmers, and friends, among others.

Starbucks released a special, limited-edition Unity Cup. CEO Howard Schultz explained the green cup and its design were meant to highlight the connections between Starbucks, its employees, and its customers. He said that during a time of division, Starbucks hoped the cup would serve as a reminder of shared values and the importance of treating each other with kindness.

Starbucks quickly unveiled its holiday cup for the year, and thankfully, it was red! Everything felt peaceful and cheerful with a coffee in hand.

The simple red holiday cup from Starbucks caused a surprisingly large uproar. When the new design—a bright red cup with a subtle color gradient—was released, many people on social media accused the company of removing all Christmas imagery. The hashtag #MerryChristamasStarbucks quickly became popular on Facebook after a pastor in Arizona posted a video complaining about the lack of traditional Christmas designs, and the video was viewed over 11 million times.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve always believed in creating spaces where everyone feels welcome, and that’s absolutely central to what we do at Starbucks. When we saw the reaction to the recent video, it reinforced our commitment to belonging, inclusion, and diversity. Every year, especially during the holidays, we strive to create a joyful experience for our customers. We’ll continue to be a place where people from all walks of life and beliefs can feel at home in our stores around the world.

Simple and classic, this red cup featured brush-stroke trees and snowflakes. 

 

These red cups were all about the hardware, a.k.a. ornaments.

It always feels like someone’s watching, and in this case, it’s a huge snowman! He’s winking at us while we enjoy our large Gingerbread Latte. That’s a fun twist on a familiar song lyric!

The mugs were decorated with cheerful messages and images of carolers, animals, and performers. It was also the year the beloved Skinny Peppermint Mocha was first released, though sadly it’s no longer available.

Since people generally enjoy the idea of carolers – even if they don’t want a performance on their doorstep – the first design trends of the new decade centered around singing and song lyrics.

The red cup featured typical holiday words like “hope” and “wish,” similar to the sentimental phrases you often find on Christmas decorations.

We love the subtle illustration making the Starbucks logo an ornament. Chic. 

We’re racing through the snow in a horse-drawn sleigh, battling traffic just to get our eggnog latte! Back in 2007, Starbucks’ holiday cups embodied the spirit of sharing, with the phrase “Pass the cheer” printed on a festive blue background covered in snowflakes.

These red cups from 2006 were designed with a fun contrast: a professional look on the upper portion and a festive holiday scene – shoppers and ice skaters – on the bottom.

This event happens just once a year. It’s amazing to think people anticipated the release of these seasonal coffee cups so eagerly, even before social media and the trend of sharing pictures of them began.

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2025-11-12 17:22