Logo Credit: Terry Heckler

More than 60 million people visit Starbucks each day for their morning coffee, a mid-day snack, or a late afternoon pickup. The Starbucks logo, which features a green, two-tailed mermaid wearing a crown, is instantly recognizable and seemingly unknown as its meaning remains a mystery to most consumers.

Unlike some other logos, there is no apparent connection between the company name and its logo. What does a mythical sea creature have to do with coffee?

THE HISTORY OF THE STARBUCKS MERMAID LOGO

The Starbucks mermaid logo harkens back to the company’s founding in 1971, particularly its hometown of Seattle. The logo is that of a siren, aimed to tempt weary sailors into her arms. In this case, it is for a hot cup of coffee as opposed to something more nefarious. The name Starbuck has a nautical history as well. For those that don’t remember high school English class, Starbuck was the first mate of Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.

The original Starbucks mermaid logo featured an image of a siren that an early Starbucks creative team member claimed came from a Norse woodcut. This image featured a bare-chested and somewhat sinister-looking siren. Though some believe the image resembles a German character, others point to the European folk tale of Mélusine. Starbucks has since altered the logo to make it appear more friendly. There is still debate about where the original image came from, but that just adds to the mystery!

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