Which Starbucks drinks are disappearing? Starbucks won’t say

Starbucks (SBUX+1.01%) says an important part of it turnaround strategy under new CEO Brian Niccol is to simplify the notoriously extensive menu making it smaller.

“To improve throughput, quality and consistency, we are simplifying our complex menu to align with our identity as a coffee company,” Niccol said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. “We retain customer choice, but focus on fewer, better offers.”

But the coffee giant is cautious about what is actually cut.

Starbucks has said it will abandon its olive oil-infused Oleato drinks starting November 7. But it doesn’t say what other products might be cut. In multiple conversations with a Starbucks spokesperson this week, the company would not confirm or deny other menu items that are about to be eliminated.

The decision to ax Oleato, which was introduced with much fanfare to provoke customer complaints, fits neatly into Niccol’s plans for a turnaround after three quarters of the declining turnover. Niccol, a former Chipotle CEO who took over as Starbucks chief in September, says the menu reduction is partly intended to lightens the burden on baristas and speed up the service.

“As standard practice, we update our menu regularly,” a Starbucks spokesperson told Quartz this week. “From the beginning of November we will no longer offer Oleato drinks. Although this decision was made before Brain took on the role of CEO, the decision to eliminate beverages is in line with the strategy to simplify our menu.”

Starbucks also said this week that this will be the case stop charging extra for non-dairy milk substitutes. Starbucks has said it will keep menu prices stable through fiscal 2025.

The company is shifting its marketing focus back to coffee quality and preparing to redesign its stores, along with increasing its workforce and simplifying mobile ordering. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the long term. Niccol, who led successful turnarounds at Chipotle (CMG+4.58%) and Taco Bell (YUM+1.01%), plans to buy Starbucks back to his roots – at least in the US