How Blank Street Made Matcha Feel Like a Personality Trait

Some brands do not just sell products. They sell something people can quietly build a little identity around.

In this episode of Full Fat Marketing, Leonora breaks down how Blank Street turned coffee and matcha into something people actively talk about, post, compare, and get weirdly attached to.

If you’ve ever wondered why some drinks feel far more desirable than they should, this episode will show you how modern brands build obsession through identity, ritual, and social relevance.

⭐ If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and review, it helps more founders discover the show.

And if you’re building a food, drink or hospitality brand and want help applying these strategies to your business, feel free to reach out at leonora@lrbcreative.com

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Disclaimer: Insights shared are based on Leonora’s experience with food and hospitality brands and are for educational purposes only. Results may vary.

Transcript

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There is no reason people should be this emotionally invested in iced matcha, and yet people are. People are queuing for it, people post it, people review new flavors like they're doing consumer journalism. And somehow Blank Street has managed to make a drink feel like it has main character energy, which is exactly why the brand works. I'm Lenora and this is the Full Fat Marketing Podcast, where you'll hear uncomfortable strategy truths, so most people won't tell you, but I will. Now, if you spend any reasonable amount of time on social media, you will have seen Blank Street. And it's kind of hard to miss. They've got really cute cups, the match is really good, the aesthetic's amazing. People hold these cups like it's part of their outfit. And if you're in London or New York especially, they are quite literally everywhere. Now it started out as a pretty simple concept. Small format coffee shops with a really streamlined menu, very much tech-led and grab and go. Nothing wildly new on paper. But what they've done since is much more interesting because they've turned what could have been a very functional coffee brand into something people actually pay serious attention to. And a big part of that is because of the drinks. Now, this isn't just lattes, cappuccinos, flat whites. It's things like matcha in about 10 different variations. They've got really cool seasonal flavors like matcha lemon loaf, blueberry, strawberry, drinks that feel slightly more playful, more current, and much more worth trying to a younger audience. And you'll see people literally filming themselves trying these new flavors all the time, reviewing them, ranking them, having opinions on them, comparing them to other places, which is not necessarily normal coffee behavior, it's brand behavior. Now Blank Street is not standing out because they invented some revolutionary new drink. They didn't. It's coffee, it's matcha, it's flavored drinks. We've all seen this before. It's really not magic. The magic is that they have made the whole thing feel seriously current, more aesthetic, more socially relevant than it has any right to be. And that is where the brand is super smart. Blank Street has built something people can have a serious take on. And remember, people don't just want products. They want products they can compare, speak to their friends about, post about, recommend, and quietly build almost like a little ritual around. That is exactly what Blank Street is selling, not just the drink. And that is where a lot of brands still massively underestimate what people are actually buying. Now, if you strip it right back, Blank Street has basically mastered three things really, really well. And together they have built something much stronger than just a nice coffee brand. Number one, they actually turn drinks into decisions. Now, most coffee brands still live in autopilot. You walk in, you order, you leave. It's basically can I have a flat white please thanks? No emotional complexity, no internal conflict, there's no storyline. Blank Street basically interrupted that. Now suddenly it's which matcha do I go for? Do I get the classic one? Do I try the new flavor? Wait, what even is the lemon loaf matcha? Is that something that I would enjoy? And that's doing a lot more work than people realize because now the drink is not just something you buy automatically. It's something you have to actively choose. And that choice creates serious consumer involvement, which is almost like having the consumer feel, well, this this choice feels a bit more like me. And the more involved people feel in the choice, the more attached they then become to it. And attachment is where repeat behavior starts getting super interesting. And honestly, people are much more willing to spend more when something feels that personal, not just being pricey for the sake of it. Number two, they made flavor launches behave like content. And this is one of the smartest things they've done. Blank Street does not just launch drinks, they launch moments. A lot of food and drink brands release something new and treat it like, oh well, here's another option. Blank Street treats it more like here's a new thing for people to react to. And that's why it really works because the flavor is not just there to sell, it is there to spark conversation, opinions, curiosity, and that's a really powerful thing. Now the product's doing more than the product itself. It's actually doing organic marketing. Their audience is practically doing all the heavy lifting for them. So seriously, at this point, forget the ads. And this is honestly where so many brands miss the point. They think launches and campaigns work because the item itself is exciting enough. And that isn't always the case. A lot of the time, what makes a launch work is whether it gives people something to say, and that's what Blank Street is really, really exceptional at. Whether people love the new flavor or think it sounds ridiculous, or even if it doesn't taste as great, they still talk about it. And in branding terms, it's really excellent. Number three, they built low stakes identity really, really well. And honestly, this is the biggest one. Most people are not trying to necessarily build their entire personality around the drink, but they're absolutely open to using tiny little things to signal some taste. And that is how a lot of modern brand behavior actually works. Not through doing these massive declarations, but through tiny repeatable little signals. And Blank Street has absolutely nailed that sweet spot because ordering one of their drinks can feel really current, slightly aesthetic, slightly specific, slightly, I know what I like, and that is a lot more powerful than it sounds because it's not about the drink changing your life, it's about the drink quietly helping someone feel a bit more like themselves. That is what people get seriously attached to. It's a brand that understands how people actually behave. And number four, they made the entire brand and experience visual. People love to dismiss this as a superficial concept, but honestly, that is really lazy thinking. Aesthetic coherence is not just about looking nice, it's seriously behavioral. If something looks trendy, current, recognizable, desirable, it becomes much easier to adopt. The easiest brands to become loyal to are often the ones that feel easiest to integrate into your life. And Blank Street has done that exceptionally well. The drinks photograph well, the brand feels really current, the packaging fits the vibe, the stores feel instantly recognizable, and that in itself is strategy alone. It then becomes much easier to justify spending on it again and again and again. And this is also why the merch works. So once a brand has moved from something I just buy to something I kind of associate with, you can then start building around it. And now it's not just a drink, now it has that serious feeling of belonging. I mean, the second someone wants the tote bag, you're no longer just selling the product, you're selling the brand identity as well. And founders think that loyalty comes from really good quality or consistency or good service or even a decent product. And yes, obviously these things are important. You need them. But those things alone do not always create that feeling of obsession. A lot of obsession comes from things such as desirability, novelty, identity, and emotional attachment. That is the stuff that gets people coming back before they've even been able to justify why. And that is where some brands start becoming real habits in people's lives. Not because they're the most rational choice necessarily, but because they become the easiest emotional choice. Now, if you're a founder, cafe owner, operator, or marketing manager listening to this, here is a practical takeaway from this episode. Ask yourself whether your product is just something people buy or whether it's something people can have a favorite of, talk about, post, compare, or get a little bit attached to. Based on that, I would then ask these three things. Number one, what in our offer feels desirable enough that someone would actually mention it? As in, would someone talk about this? Number two, do we have products people can form favorites around? Not just by wants. And this is a huge one because loyalty often starts with, I always get that, like that's always my choice. And number three, are we trying to talk people into it instead of making them want it? A lot of brands spend so much time overexplaining what they sell instead of making it feel more desirable. You don't always need a better or more intense or more in-depth explanation. Sometimes you just need more want. And the practical move after this episode is really simple. Look at your menu or product range and ask, what is our version of I always get that? And then what is our version of, oh wait, I actually want to try that. Now, if you don't have both, there's probably a bit of a gap there to fill. There's something missing because the strongest brands usually have something people return for and something that keeps the brand feeling alive. And tomorrow I want to talk about why some food brands are not actually too expensive. They've just not built something that feels worth the number yet, which is not what anyone necessarily wants to hear, but it's often true. And that's the Full Fat version. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, you can listen to Full Fat Marketing Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, with new bite size episodes dropping daily, Monday to Friday. You can thank me later for that. Oh, and if you're enjoying the podcast, I'd really love it if you left a review because it really helps more people find it. I'll see you tomorrow.