Which company’s beverage rights did Starbucks acquire to create the Frappuccino?

Starbucks acquired The Coffee Connection’s beverage rights to create the Frappuccino.

The Coffee Connection was a Boston-based coffeehouse chain that developed and sold a blended coffee beverage called the Frappuccino. Starbucks acquired The Coffee Connection in 1994, obtaining the rights associated with the drink and then expanding the product across its own stores.

Starbucks launched the Frappuccino nationally in 1995. The beverage became a blended, chilled Starbucks product with coffee and ice, later expanding into many flavors and versions. The name therefore originated outside Starbucks, although Starbucks turned it into one of the company’s most recognizable beverage brands.