(Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp. will discontinue its lineup of olive oil drinks as the company moves to tame its sprawling menu.
Oleato products will be permanently removed from the core menu beginning Nov. 7 when the company launches its holiday drinks, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. In the message, the coffee chain said it’s “saying goodbye to Starbucks Oleato beverages and toffee nut syrup.”
New Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol, who took over Sept. 9, said he’s looking to stoke growth after three quarters of same-store sales declines. He has said that one of his priorities is to simplify the chain’s “overly complex” menu in a bid to make baristas’ jobs easier and speed up service.
In a statement, the company said it updates its menu regularly and that Oleato will no longer be offered starting around early November. It added that the decision was made before Niccol took over, though it aligns with the strategy to pare back the lineup.
Starbucks first introduced Oleato drinks in early 2023, making them available across all US stores by January of this year. The launch was championed by the company’s longtime leader, Howard Schultz, who called the olive-oil infused beverages a “transformational way” to enjoy coffee.
The drinks were met with mixed reactions online, and several baristas and managers have said they weren’t very popular in their stores.
(Updates with company comment in fourth paragraph.)
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