Starbucks crafted a brand-new role for the marketer it just poached from E.l.f. Beauty—a noteworthy hiring move that speaks to how the coffee chain plans to make its comeback in 2026.
Yesterday, Neiv Toledano, who previously served as a senior marketing manager at the budget-friendly skincare brand E.l.f. Beauty, announced on LinkedIn that she was joining Starbucks as its brand activation team’s head of fashion and beauty. In the post, Toledano wrote that she has been tasked with driving “culture, fandom, and buzzworthy moments” for the Seattle-based company.
Toledano reports to Candice Beck, vice president of brand engagement, who hopped to Starbucks from Yahoo seven months ago. Prior to that, Beck was the director of Chipotle’s social and influencer team, where she and Toledano worked together.
According to Modern Retail, Toledano’s new role is the “first-of-its-kind” at Starbucks, and seems to function as part of CEO Brian Niccol’s larger plan to revitalize the coffee chain.
Fashion and beauty collaborations are nothing new for Starbucks. Under its previous leadership team, the company partnered with fashion designers Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, and Brandon Blackwood in 2019, 2020, and 2023, respectively. Still, Starbucks only sold the von Furstenberg and Wang collections in Asia stores, and offered the Blackwood collection exclusively online.
Since Niccol joined as chief executive last summer, the coffee chain has ramped up the cadence of these collaborations and expanded their footprints. In May, Starbucks teamed up with Farm Rio, a popular Brazilian fashion brand, to create a drinkware collection that it sold across the U.S., Canada, and Brazil, as well as select Latin America and Caribbean markets.
A few months later, the company tapped Zac Posen, the creative director and executive vice president of Gap, to make a custom dress inspired by its mascot for New York Fashion Week.
As a result of this and additional marketing moves, Starbucks saw brand affinity reach its “highest point since 2023,” Niccol said in the company’s most recent earnings call. The CEO still has a ways to go before he can claim a victory, though.