LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp on Wednesday unveiled a simplified new logo that focuses on its mermaid symbol and removes the company name from around the border of the "siren."
The world's biggest coffee company's logo had been unchanged since Starbucks went public 1992.
The new, all-green logo lands as Starbucks plans to expand the number of branded products it sells outside its own cafes.
"Even though we have been and always will be a coffee company and retailer, it's possible we'll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said on a webcast.
The new logo design also marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the first Starbucks store in Seattle in 1971, Schultz said.
Executives said the new logo will be phased in over time. Its first appearance will be on paper goods such as cups and napkins in March 2011. It declined to say how much it would spend swapping out the logos.
Starbucks shares were down 6 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $32.43 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
Starbucks new logo drops company name
