Business Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls new olive oil coffee drinks 'transformational' - Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz said the new olive-oil coffee line will be a "market-maker."

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls new olive oil coffee drinks 'transformational'

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the new olive-oil coffee could disrupt the market.

www.cnbc.com

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz touts new olive oil coffee

archived 22 Feb 2023 03:11:20 UTC

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Rebecca Picciotto

• Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz said the new olive-oil coffee line will be a "market-maker."
• The drinks will launch in Italy before arriving in some U.S. markets this spring.
• Schultz is stepping down from his interim CEO role in April and will be replaced by Laxman Narasimhan.

Starbucks' new line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks could disrupt the industry, interim CEO Howard Schultz told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday.

"This is a transformational moment in the history of our company creating a new category, a new platform," Schultz told CNBC's "Mad Money." He said Starbucks' new olive-oil coffee, which he conceived after an inspirational trip to Sicily, will be incremental to the business over time.

The drinks debut Wednesday at the company's 25 Italy locations. Schultz believes it will be a "market-maker" in an industry that has felt the squeeze of tightening consumer demand. The "Oleato," which is named after the Italian word for "with oil," will come to the U.S. this spring, starting in California.

Alongside olive oil coffee, Starbucks is also unveiling an Oleato espresso martini, which will be available in select locations in Italy, as well as Seattle and New York.

Schultz is launching the new coffee line ahead of his April departure as interim CEO. Incoming chief executive Laxman Narasimhan will take over the position, though Schultz, 69, will maintain his board seat and act as an ambassador for the Oleato brand.

"I'll carry the Starbucks flag and the American flag all over the world for Oleato," said Schultz, who will be concluding his third tenure as chief executive. "But make no mistake, Laxman is the CEO and at the annual meeting on March 23, there's only one leader at Starbucks. It's going to be him."

Starbucks' olive oil coffee comes as the company continues to navigate a tough macro environment, though Schultz has maintained optimism. He noted that the company has added roughly $40 billion to its market cap since he started as interim CEO.

To be sure, Starbucks has raised prices about 5% to offset inflation, but Schultz said he does not expect any more increases.

"I'm not worried about inflation going forward, and I might be the only CEO in America that feels like we're going to have a soft landing," said Schultz.

The company has seen sagging international sales after a resurgence in Covid cases in China led to shrinking demand in that market. Going forward, Schultz is anticipating a rebound for China and for consumer demand at large.

"The wind is at our back," Schultz said.

 

[Dysnomia]

It's probably good when made by some little cafe somewhere but Starbucks can't even make a brewed coffee so fuck off.

Burnt oily coffee that's also overpriced? Sounds lovely.

 

[Criticallacitirc]

Wow a food company cutting product costs by introducing a highly processed oil as an ingredient, Schultz is truly a visionary.

​

 

[Constellationzero]

You are the scum of the earth if you drink from Starbucks. Tim Hortons all the way.

Shell gas station. 89 cents any size.

 

[BIG BILL HELL'S]

I didn't think it was possible to make coffee taste any worse than it already does, but nature finds a way, I guess.

 

[WolfeTone]

This is going to make fat americans shit so hard as they're stuck in traffic, I can already smell the diarrhea dripping off the rascal scooters as they go up and down the handicap ramps, what will this madman think of next to torment and humiliate us?

 

[OrangeJuliusEvola]

Just when they couldn't get anymore disgusting than diabetes-in-a-glass milkshakes that could only described as coffee by the most generous of definitions, they now come out with a product that sounds like it will swiftly induce diarrhea in the middle of your morning commute.

 

[Matt Damon]

Shell gas station. 89 cents any size.

Aldi-brand coffee from a Walmart Mr Coffee maker. Half the price is the tap water you use to fill up the pot.

 

[Renmai]

It doesn't sound that different from that keto "bulletproof" coffee where you add butter and/or MCT oil to black coffee. I've tried it once.. wasn't bad as long as it is mixed well. And let's not pretend those cheap creamers aren't already full of vegetable oil.

 

[Counterfeit Obol]

As much as I like olive oil in my cooking... ew.

 

[TowinKarz]

About every 20 years or so, the hubris of American business reaches a zenith and they seem to think they can create markets by waving their fingers or that they've finally cultivated enough brand loyalty they could reduce their product quality to the level of taking a dump in a Big Mac carton and calling it a burger, and no one would notice..... and I think we're due again. The last time it was the 90's after all.

In case you forgot:

Olestra chips didn't work

Pets.com didn't work

Segways didn't work

The XFL didn't work

The Arch Deluxe didn't work

Frankly, if I ever somehow become the Ruler of Earth (tm) - my first edict will be that anyone who uses the phrase "transformative" will be drug into the street and shot.

 

[WTBOnlineFather]

Starsucks makes a brand new putrid puke potion under the misnomer of "coffee", hype reaches unreal levels.
Shit like this is why you can't truly believe anyone when they tell you, "Coffee? Yeah I love coffee!"

 

[jertzog]

It may as well be castor oil.

 

[Otterly]

Do you think these companies have an internal staff competition to see who can come up with the foulest concoction they possibly can, at the highest possible price point they can get away with?
Starbucks is grim anyway, adding olive oil to it sounds absolutely foul.

 

[Sparkletor 2.0]

It's melted ice cream in a cup.

 

[winterfag]

this sounds like the sort of thing someone would try and go "wow that wasn't as awful as I expected it to be!" and then never buy it again

 

[Secret Asshole]

Isn't most Olive oil like 50% Palm oil anyway

No, its just yellow and I'll tell you why. Extra virgin olive oil is actually amazingly sweet, because the way olive oil works is that the 'virgin' olives are only pressed once, which is why 'extra virgin' olive oil is green. Its pressed one and done.

When the olives are pressed over and over again, the olive oil becomes yellow. Coffee with extra virgin olive oil would actually be amazing since extra virgin oil is basically slightly sweet with a slight olive taste. Sometimes it actually has NO olive taste. Its just buttery and smooth with a very slightly earthly taste. When you go to good Italian restaurants, instead of butter, they'll serve you bread with extra virgin/virgin olive oil because it serves the same purpose.

Virgin olives are pressed twice, so they've got a slightly yellower tinge but its almost as good, when there's normal olive oil, its the yellow. Typically virgin and extra virgin oils are used to make sauces rather than cook with since they're so expensive.

What Starbucks is going to do is buy cheap-ass olive oil and pretend its extra virgin and charge you an extra 2.50 for the privilege. Which is why basically everyone is correct. They take culture, cheapen it and make a mockery of it.

 

[God of Nothing]

No, its just yellow and I'll tell you why. Extra virgin olive oil is actually amazingly sweet, because the way olive oil works is that the 'virgin' olives are only pressed once, which is why 'extra virgin' olive oil is green. Its pressed one and done.

When the olives are pressed over and over again, the olive oil becomes yellow. Coffee with extra virgin olive oil would actually be amazing since extra virgin oil is basically slightly sweet with a slight olive taste. When you go to good Italian restaurants, instead of butter, they'll serve you bread with extra virgin olive oil because it serves the same purpose.

Virgin olives are pressed twice, so they've got a slightly yellower tinge but its almost as good, when there's normal olive oil, its the yellow. Typically virgin and extra virgin oils are used to make sauces rather than cook with since they're so expensive.

What Starbucks is going to do is buy cheap-ass olive oil and pretend its extra virgin and charge you an extra 2.50 for the privilege.

i knew i made my eggs with it for a reason

 

[Executive Petrel]

This is Goyslop.

 

[Matt Damon]

i knew made my eggs with it for a reason

You make eggs with butter, nigga. There's no excuse for this kind of heresy.

 

[The Feline Solution]

I can't wait for the disastrous outcome of this utterly retarded idea. It sounds fucking repulsive.