These drinks are starting up.
Starbucks’ olive oil-infused drinks are being pulled from the market just a year after being added to the menu, as the company’s new CEO looks to streamline service.
Oleato products will be permanently removed from the core menu starting Nov. 7, when Starbucks’ holiday drinks launch, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
The memo stated that Starbucks is “saying goodbye to Starbucks Oleato beverages and toffee nut syrup.”
New CEO Brian Niccol, who took over the chain on September 9, noted that one of his priorities to accelerate the company’s growth is to simplify the “overly complex” menu so baristas can speed up service.
However, according to Bloomberg, the company said the decision to ax the Oleato drinks was made before Niccol took over, although this is in line with its plan to scale back the menu.
Oleato drinks (Italian for “oiled”) debuted in Italy in February 2023 before making their way to select locations in California in March 2023, finally becoming available nationwide on January 30, 2024.
The drinks, infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil, were the brainchild of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who believed the drink was a “transformational way to enjoy our daily coffee.”
Oleato’s origin story began with Schultz’s visit to Sicily, when he was introduced to the Mediterranean custom of drinking a spoonful of olive oil daily, according to Starbucks’ website.
While enjoying his morning coffee, he was inspired to combine the two items.
Some consumers reported experiencing stomach upset from the combination of coffee and oil.
Baristas and customers alike gave the drink candid reviews on Reddit in a thread titled “Olive Oil Drinks…”
“Caffeine is a stimulant for your intestines and oil is a relaxant. So yeah, great idea from Starbucks,” one person commented.
“Half the team tried it yesterday and a few ended up… I had to go to the toilet, if you know what I mean… I’m honestly scared to try it because I already have stomach and intestinal problems wrote a suspected Starbucks barista.
Meanwhile, The Post’s Steve Cuozzo panned the drinks in a review written last year, writing: “The alleged spoonful of Partanna in each tasted less like olive oil than a chemical solvent with a nasty, lingering aftertaste.”
Cuozzo added that “Starbucks likes to ruin its very good, dark roast coffee with expensive, crazy and ill-advised additives.”
