- Starbucks launched a new line of olive oil-infused coffee on Tuesday.
- From Wednesday, a latte, iced espresso and cold brew will be available in stores across Italy.
- Acting Starbucks CEO Schultz called the new line “transformative” and likened it to “alchemy.”
Starbucks has convinced people around the world to buy Frappuccinos, often in unusual flavors such as American cherry pie and even red velvet cake.
Now the coffee giant is selling its new Oleato range – basically olive oil-infused coffee.
The new drinks will first launch in Italy on Wednesday, the coffee chain said in a statement. Tuesday press release. three drinks – a latte, iced espresso and cold brew will be available at regular Starbucks stores in Italy, the chain said.
These drinks are expected to be available in the United States this spring, starting with outlets in Southern California. The Japanese, Middle Eastern and UK markets will get them later this year. Customers in some markets can also request that a spoonful of olive oil be added to beverages such as espressos and milk teas.
The new creations sprung up after Howard Schultz, the interim CEO of Starbucks, was inspired by the Mediterranean custom of drinking a spoonful of olive oil every day during his trips to Sicily last year. Soon after, he started taking olive oil with his morning coffee and “quickly got the idea to try both together,” Starbucks said. Tuesday.
“There was some skepticism, naturally,” Schultz acknowledged, per a the wall street journal report Tuesday.
Schultz added that Starbucks would not make any health claims for olive oil-infused beverages, according to The Journal. “There will be enemies, there will be cynics. We are ready for them,” he told the outlet. Schultz didn’t elaborate on what those health claims were, but Starbucks executives told the Journal that these beverages could appeal to customers interested in drinking olive oil for health reasons.
Schultz had teased the new line of olive oil-infused drinks in Starbucks fiscal first quarter earnings call on February 2, and called it a “game changer.”
“When I was in Italy last summer, I discovered a new category and a new platform for sustainable business transformation – unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “The word I would use to describe it without giving too much away is alchemy.”
Schultz said CNBC’s Jim Cramer Tuesday that Starbucks’ new olive oil drink creations have a “velvety, very luscious, almost creamy buttery flavor” that prolongs the flavor of the coffee.
Starbucks’ Oleato line is likely Schultz’s latest launch as boss of the coffee chain. The executive — who was the Acting CEO of Starbucks since April 2022— leaves his position and passes the baton to Laxman Narasimhan who will be Starbucks’ next CEO on April 1.