The Sharpie story: Inside a brand so strong that Starbucks is now depending on it

Mere weeks into his new role as CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol joined an earnings call with investors and trumpeted an iconic brand. But it wasn't Starbucks.
'Bringing the Sharpies back to our baristas,' Niccol declared last October, will 'give them the opportunity to put that additional human touch on every coffee experience' by writing each customer's name or an inspiring note on their cup. 'We're tracking down the Sharpies,' Niccol later told CNBC, estimating the company would need about 200,000 of them.
The comments drew attention—Starbucks even followed up with a TV ad featuring baristas jotting on cups—but in a way, they revealed more about Sharpie than they did about the coffee giant. Sharpie defines a category. It's simultaneously universal and personal, instantly recognizable, and ubiquitous. It's such a strong brand, in fact, that Starbucks, a global juggernaut with a market cap of more than $100 billion, is in effect leaning on it for support.
Yet when the CNBC hosts mused that maybe it was time to go long on whoever makes Sharpies, they weren't certain which company that was—3M, maybe?—until they looked it up. It's Newell Brands, the Atlanta-based conglomerate behind Rubbermaid, Mr. Coffee, and Oster appliances. Sharpie is part of a suite of 'learning and development' brands that includes Paper Mate, Elmer's, Expo, and Prismacolor, which is the company's most profitable division, says Kris Malkoski, the segment's CEO.
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