Are fast food chains using collectible cups to hide a 30% price hike?
Yahoo Finance Video
Mon, July 6, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT
- SBUX
-2.07%
Fast food chains are turning to a booming $32 billion collectibles market and limited-edition merchandise to drive customer loyalty and distract from menu price hikes that have risen 30% since 2019
00:00Brian
You might be wondering why fast food chains are all in on these snazzy cups. I see two reasons. One, drinks are high margin opportunities for fast food and an area of strong growth the industry is trying to capitalize. If I can sell a person a collector cup that costs 5 cents to make and get them excited to keep using it each day, it’s a great margin boost
00:16Brian
And two, the US collectible market is hot, hot, hot. The industry was estimated at $32 billion last year and is projected to reach 48 billion by 2033
00:24Brian
People want to spend on collectibles even if they’re made out of cheap plastic. My question is this, will collectible cups move the stock price needle for the battered fast food space? Brook come to you. You are our resident uh fast food watcher
00:33Brooke
Brian, I don’t necessarily think it’s going to lead to a stock movement directly, but I do think what this is leading to to a larger movement of loyalty within the brands. You need to be a Starbucks reward member in order to get this cup to get early access to this cup. It’s going to be available to Starbucks Reserve members beginning on July 9th
00:48Brooke
And so people customers, they want to be able to be a part of this, especially that pink drink phenomenon that Starbucks has really capitalized on
00:54Brooke
So I think that that’s sort of the back door into this that you have to be a rewards member, you have to know when it’s going to drop, and then ultimately you’re going to buy a drink with the purchase of this, get this a $30 cup that is
01:03Brian
Eric, I apologize in advance. I’ve known you for a while, but I apologize for dragging you into this conversation
01:09Eric
Well, all I can say Brian is as a as the dad of a twin 12-year-old girls, I’ve bought way too many pink drinks in my life
01:14Eric
And now that I see those uh I have I have a premonition I’m going to be buying a lot of those bears with the hat on the, you know, the the you got in front of you. Those I see those definitely in my future. Um I I and I think it’s smart of these of these retail operations to to do this. They’ve got to find a way to compete other than price
01:30Eric
You know, one thing none of them are saying on their uh commercials during the World Cup is that, hey, the average price of our menu is 30% higher than it was in 2019, okay?
01:37Brian
Yeah these cups are a great way to distract from that uh Eric. Come in and get my $12 cup and you’ll forget that your coffee’s actually $10 as well
01:42Eric
I I don’t see this as being a a boost to the stock price. I think it’s I think it’ll be a like a one-time hit for for for traffic into these stores. Uh, especially the ones that are they have the more interesting bear cups probably, but um, long-term, I think they’re going to have to continue to work away at something
