“Our coffeehouses are coffeehouses again.”
Brian Niccol, Starbucks CEO, October 29
Starbucks’ holiday menu goes on sale today, Thursday, November 5. The Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Sugar Cookie Latte and Gingerbread Chai are back in U.S. stores. A surprise collection of glass Bearista cold cups starts November 10, and the original Bearista cup returns to select stores on December 1.
The free reusable red cup is not. Red Cup Day, the one-day giveaway with a holiday drink purchase, falls on Tuesday, November 17, the company has confirmed. That is 12 days after the menu launch, and on a different day of the week.
We checked the last three years.
| Year | Holiday menu launch | Red Cup Day | Weekday | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Not confirmed | Nov. 14 | Thursday | Not confirmed |
| 2025 | Nov. 6 | Nov. 13 | Thursday | 7 days |
| 2026 | Nov. 5 | Nov. 17 | Tuesday | 12 days |
In both earlier years, Red Cup Day was a Thursday. In 2025 it came exactly one week after the menu. This year it moved to a Tuesday and further from the launch. Starbucks has not said why.
There is one obvious reason the date matters.
On Red Cup Day last year, November 13, 2025, union baristas walked out. According to Starbucks Workers United’s own timeline, the strike grew to about 4,500 workers in more than 130 cities. The union calls it the longest nationwide strike in company history.
A year later there is still no contract. The union presented a full contract package in February, and the two sides prepared to return to the table in April. More than 700 U.S. stores have voted to unionize.
The two sides tell very different stories about this holiday.
What Starbucks reported
U.S. same-store sales rose 7.7% last quarter, with transactions up 2.4%. Adjusted earnings rose 54% to 80 cents a share. Starbucks Rewards hit a record 36 million active members. The company closed 247 U.S. stores in the quarter.
What the union says
Baristas at 700-plus stores have no first contract. Last year’s Red Cup Day strike became the longest in company history. The union’s February package asked for higher pay for the lowest-paid workers, more guaranteed hours and stronger workplace protections.
The sales figures come from Starbucks’ fiscal fourth quarter, as Restaurant Business reported on October 29. Niccol called the company “hitting on all cylinders.”
That is the leverage problem in one table. Starbucks is growing again, and Red Cup Day is its busiest promotional day of the season. The union showed last year that it can turn that day into a picket line.
The promotion also runs through the phone. Starbucks markets its holiday deals in the Rewards app, which now has 36 million active members. A crowd built in an app arrives at the counter all at once, and the baristas absorb it.
Our view: a company that says its coffeehouses are coffeehouses again should sign a contract with the people who run them. Moving a promotion to a Tuesday does not solve a labor dispute. A contract does. Until there is one, every Red Cup Day is a date the union can use.
Starbucks has learned that promotions can go wrong. In Korea, a promotion called “Tank Day” set off a national backlash in May.
If you want the cup, go early on November 17. It comes with the purchase of a holiday drink, supplies are limited, and not every store takes part. Starbucks has not yet shown this year’s design.