The comparison is moot anyway, because Starbucks doesn’t claim their coffee will cure your back pain, nor are the products 10x overpriced and crappier than Folger’s. They are overpriced indeed, but compared to other gourmet coffees they pretty much have a standard going rate. I have found gourmet coffees on the internet that are more expensive than Starbucks, and guess what? The quality shows, unlike MonaVie which thrives on the fancy bottle effect.

If Monavie provided a nice clean place with chairs and tables and a patio, and friendly competent people to preapre and serve my drink, as well as music, nice lighting, utensils, a store on every corner, etc., then MAYBE they could get away with charging a bit more than what Welch’s or V8 provides (of course, ignoring the fact that Monavie is a grossly inferior more toxic product that nobody but its own distribitors wants to buy).

But Monavie provides none of those things. In fact, the tiny bit of customer service that they provide, through their representatives (armed with bloviated and misleading marketing materials) is so grossly inept and obnoxious that if I ever encountered it in a retail outlet I would have to restrain myself from throttling someone. At the very least, they would never get any repeat business.