Starbucks’ Oleato coffee beverages.
Starbucks
Starbucks’ controversial line of olive oil-infused drinks will leave U.S. stores in early November.
The decision to remove the Oleato drinks from domestic menus predates newly installed CEO Brian Niccol, who arrived at Starbucks in early September, a company spokesperson said. However, it aligns with Niccol’s strategy to simplify menus as part of a broader turnaround scheme to go “back to Starbucks,” the spokesperson said.
Bloomberg first reported the news of the drinks’ departure.
Starbucks is set to report its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. In a preliminary release of its results, the company said its sales fell for the third consecutive quarter as weak demand in the U.S. and China weighed on its performance.
Wall Street has high hopes for Niccol’s leadership, including ending the outsized influence of former CEO Howard Schultz, who hatched the idea for the Oleato line.
The lineup of Oleato drinks infused Partanna olive oil into Starbucks’ Caffe Latte, Iced Shaken Espresso and cold foam. Baristas steamed the olive oil with oat milk for the latte, shook it in the iced espresso drink and infused it in vanilla sweet cream foam to top cold brews.
Schultz imagined the Oleato line after a trip to Italy, where he saw Sicilians drinking olive oil as a daily ritual. He, too, began drinking olive oil alongside his daily coffee and decided that Starbucks should try to mix the two together. Ahead of the reveal, he teased the idea as “alchemy” and a “game-changer.”
Oleato means “with oil” in Italian, according to Starbucks.
Starbucks first launched the line in Italy, then brought it to stores in Southern California in spring 2023. A nationwide launch followed in January.
But it does not seem as though customers agreed with Schultz’s high opinion of the drinks. Early reviews in the U.S. press were largely negative, and some social media users complained the drinks had a laxative effect.
Cafes in China, Italy and Japan will continue to serve the Oleato drinks.
