Starbucks is abandoning the olive oil coffee that was the brainchild of its former CEO

New York
CNN
—

Starbucks is removing its controversial olive oil drinks from its menu, less than a year after they made their national debut.

The ‘Oleato’ range of drinks will be removed from Starbucks menus in the US and Canada from early November, as part of the chain’s wider plans to simplify a menu that newly installed CEO Brian Niccol recently called ‘overblown’ complex,” said a Starbucks spokesperson. source familiar with the company’s plans. However, the decision to refuse the drinks was made before Niccol arrived, the source added.

The turnaround comes after a bombastic launch of the drinks. “It’s one of the biggest launches we’ve had in decades,” Brady Brewer, Starbucks’ former chief marketing officer, told CNN in February 2023. “It is not a flavor or a product, but a platform.”

Oleato was the brainchild of former CEO Howard Schultz, who came up with the idea after meeting an olive oil producer introduced him to the habit of consuming a tablespoon of olive oil every day. Schultz picked up the habit himself and wondered if he could combine it with his daily coffee routine. He then asked Starbucks’ beverage team to see if they could make it happen.

The result was a beverage offering that received a largely negative response from the media and consumers.

A few reviewers posted a video with the title “We Tried Starbucks Olive Oil Coffee Drinks and Seriously Regret It.” Others had mixed feelings, but concluded that the drinks were more like a stunt – something worth trying, but not necessarily worth coming back for.

Meanwhile, some people even complained that the drinks caused painful stomach upsets.

The drinks debuted in Italy in early 2023, before migrating to more U.S. cities a few months later. A launch in the US and Canada took place in January 2024. The Oleato menu consists of two drinks: an oat milk latte infused with extra virgin olive oil; and a shaken espresso with toffee notes and golden foam, a sweet vanilla cream infused with extra virgin olive oil into a cold foam.

Schultz was effusive about the launch and it was one of his most high-profile projects before leaving his position. Former CEO Laxman Narasimhan claimed the drinks were “highly successful” and called it “one of the top five product launches of the last five years in terms of brand awareness and excitement.”

Narasimhan was fired in August and replaced by Niccol, who spoke out about his plans to simplify Starbucks’ menu amid sluggish sales.