Starbucks is trying to stem the loss of customers by simplifying its menu, reintroducing ceramic mugs and making other changes to be more like a local coffee house.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
Starbucks plans to cut about 30% of food and drink options from its menu by late 2025, as part of the chain’s plan to change its vibe and stem the loss of customers across U.S. stores.
This week, the coffee giant also began offering ceramic mugs and free coffee and tea refills for people who want to stay in for a drink. And the chain is once again letting people serve themselves cream or sweetener, bringing back the condiment bar that had gone away during the pandemic.
Starbucks sales dipped 4% both in the U.S. and worldwide in the latest quarter, compared to a year earlier. That marks the fourth quarter of declines in a row. The chain is paying record sums to new CEO Brian Niccol — lured from Chipotle for his turnaround success there — to fix the spill.
Niccol has dubbed his plan “Back to Starbucks,” pledging to return the chain to its roots as your local coffee house. Starbucks has stopped charging extra for non-dairy milks in drinks. Its baristas have been armed with sharpies to once again start writing notes on customers’ cups. And the chain has reinstated its policy to allow bathroom use only for paying customers.
In a call with investors on Tuesday, Niccol said the free alternative-milks are already bringing back “lapsed Starbucks rewards members.” He did not specify which menu items might disappear by the end of September, and neither did company representatives in response to NPR’s inquiry. So far, the first menu item to go was olive-oil Oleato coffee.
Niccol has called the current menu overwhelming for both customers and baristas. He said a slimmer selection would leave space for Starbucks to respond to “cultural moments,” like the recently viral Dubai Matcha, and to input from baristas, like the lavender-flavored drinks launched last year, plus better food options over the course of the day.
The company is pushing for most stores to deliver a drink order within 4 minutes — a plan that includes more and faster machines, improved mobile ordering and digital menu screens. Niccol has framed his goal as simplifying the work for company staff, saying he’s “committed to ensuring Starbucks is the unrivaled best job in retail.”
The chain remains at loggerheads with its unionized workers. Baristas have organized at more than 500 Starbucks stores since late 2021but have not been able to reach a collective-bargaining agreement with the company.
By March, Niccol has said he plans to announce layoffs of some corporate staff. He’s also recently brought several former executives from Taco Bell, where Niccol had also been CEO in the past.
