Caribou Coffee Updates Logo, Underplays The Caribou

What's Caribou Coffee without the trademark traditional caribou? Consumers who favor the chain (second behind Starbucks) will soon find out.

Caribou Coffee is rolling out a new brand identity, including a revised logo designed to "foster a more contemporary, less regional image." The caribou remains, but it is much more stylized and barely identifiable. Now it's represented by a few graphic splashes and a coffee bean.

It's a far cry from the original Caribou Coffee logo, with a distinctly drawn wild reindeer. The company got its name in 1990 when the founders took a trip to Alaska and spotted a thundering herd of caribou. While the graphic is changing, the company's tag line remains: "Life is short. Stay awake for it."

The rebranding is believed to be the beginning of plans to grow the chain beyond its largely midwestern roots and into a "national presence," according to Brandweek. Rather than open more chain stores, however, Caribou Coffee is expected to make a push to increase retail sales of its branded ground coffee, which is now available in 7,000 US grocery stores.

Starbucks outspends Caribou Coffee 43 to 1 in promotion, but that doesn't seem to faze Caribou Coffee. Last year, the chain consistently scored higher than Starbucks in customer satisfaction, according to YouGov's BrandIndex.