Coconut drinks, agave syrup: Starbucks fleshes out its healthier menu

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Starbucks Corp., which built a loyal following in part by selling sugary candy-colored drinks, has a vision for a healthier menu that’s better suited for the MAHA era.

It’s testing matcha and cold brew made with coconut water. It’s exploring syrups sweetened with agave instead of sugar. It’s been piloting a protein-infused cold foam and looking into more plant-based products.

The moves are meant to draw in the health and wellness crowd, part of a broader menu overhaul designed to bring more traffic to stores and reverse a stubborn sales slump.

“We’ve been working on sugar reduction,” Dana Pellicano, who leads product development at Starbucks, said in an interview.

This week, the Seattle-based chain started testing coconut-water-based beverages at five New York-area stores. The drinks have about a third of the sugar content of a summer-berry lemonade refresher, plus electrolytes. A bigger regional test will soon follow.

As the chain builds out its new menu, sugar is a key area of focus, Pellicano said. The company is exploring syrups made with sweeteners such as agave, dates or coconut and “actively working on” other sugar-free beverages, Pellicano said.

Earlier this year, the chain launched lower-calorie ready-made Frappuccinos and sugar-free canned energy drinks. It also removed sweetener from its matcha powder.

Starbucks is walking a fine line. Its sugar-laden Frappuccinos and refreshers bring much-needed traffic to stores, but the chain also wants to appeal to a growing cohort of health-conscious customers.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. put a spotlight on the company when he said that Chief Executive Brian Niccol pledged that Starbucks would “further MAHA” its menu.

The focus on adding healthier options predates the Trump administration, according to Pellicano. The company removed ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup, as well as artificial dyes and flavours, years ago. It launched the sugar-free matcha in January, before Kennedy was confirmed to his post.

The strategy, Pellicano said, is to offer more options to draw a variety of customers. For people on weight-loss shots or on a diet, Starbucks is looking into more nutrient-dense foods, like that protein foam.

It’s planning vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Any new food or drink items it launches will start with a test in five US stores. From there, baristas and customers can give feedback on everything from taste to how difficult products are to make. If it’s successful, a wider release will follow.

“We are the industry leader in customization,” she said, adding that Starbucks wants customers to find something on its menu “without having to sacrifice how they want to feel about their choices.”