In 1994, Starbucks bought The Coffee Connection, gaining the rights to use, make, market, and sell the "Frappuccino" beverage.[61] The beverage was introduced under the Starbucks name in 1995 and as of 2012, Starbucks had annual Frappuccinos sales of over $2 billion.[61]
The company began a "skinny" line of drinks in 2008, offering lower-calorie and sugar-free versions of the company's offered drinks that use skim milk, and can be sweetened by a choice of "natural" sweeteners (such as raw sugar, agave syrup, or honey), artificial sweeteners (such as Sweet'N Low, Splenda, Equal), or one of the company's sugar-free syrup flavors.[62][63] Starbucks stopped using milk originating from rBGH-treated cows in 2007.[64]