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.

 

[Hypnagogia]

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

Then why the fuck has the price of the store bought mocha frappuccinos quadrupled in price over the last two years? They're an expensive addiction.

 

[The handsome tard]

Imagine drinking Starbucks

 

[Drain Todger]

They're trying to market bulletproof coffee which is coffee with oil and butter. It's disgusting, but it's apparently a good way to get calories in with paleo/keto.

I knew a guy who did keto and drank bulletproof coffee every morning, and he was rail-thin. I thought it was pretty disgusting, too, but apparently, it works.

Of course, that's made with butter and/or MCT oil, not fucking refined olive oil, which is pretty much guaranteed to turn Starbucks drinkers into bloated mart-sharters.

 

[Snekposter]

The few times I went to Starbucks I was pretty shocked. The tin of discount instant coffee I got from the supermarket was less bitter than this. It was like they spent extra money to ask a guy to scour the world for the shittiest sack of coffee beans sitting the corner of a decrepit warehouse they were about to demolish with a bulldozer.

That's exactly how they do it. They send a guy to the coffee sales where he deliberately buys the shittiest, worst beans, and they over-roast the fuck out of them in a desperate but ultimately failing attempt to mask the shit quality, and then they add your daily recommended allowance of sugar and fat to it to finish the job.

Then why the fuck has the price of the store bought mocha frappuccinos quadrupled in price over the last two years? They're an expensive addiction.

You'd be better off drinking Mountain Dew since its got just as much sugar and caffeine.

 

[pwnest injun]

Isn't the olive oil industry 90% controlled by organized crime?

 

[Sparkling Yuzu]

I like their frappes, sammiches and iced tea but I would not drink this.