SEATTLE—Starbucks Corp., SBUX -2.17%decrease; red down pointing triangle the company that made Frappuccino a household name, is turning to a new drink—one infused with olive oil.
The world’s largest coffee chain plans to launch a line of olive-oil-infused drinks, set to debut in the company’s coffee shops in Italy this week and the U.S. in the spring. The Oleato beverages will include an oat-milk latte imbued with extra-virgin olive oil, and a cold brew drink topped with “golden foam” infused with the oil, executives said. Starbucks is also adding the oil to its Iced Shaken Espresso beverage, pairing it with oat milk and hazelnut.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks’s interim chief executiveand longtime leader, is overseeing the project, he said, and expects to remain involved after he steps down as company chief at the end of March. Starbucks executives said they expect the new drinks to materially contribute to the company’s earnings.
“This will be the most significant, transformative thing we’ve done in decades,” said Mr. Schultz, while sampling the new drinks with executives who developed them at the company’s headquarters this month.
Starbucks settled on three main drinks after four months of development. It typically takes the company about a year to develop a new beverage, executives said. About 100 people have worked on the Oleato line, Starbucks said.
Starbucks is betting on the new premium drink line as consumers have been pinched by inflation. Americans continue to spend at restaurants, federal data this month showed, but other restaurant-chain executives have said they have noticed some lower-income consumers purchasing fewer or less-expensive items.
Starbucks executives have said that consumers are continuing to buy their higher-cost beverages, and believe Americans view their drinks as worthwhile indulgences. The company said the price of the beverages will vary by market. Those initially sold in Italian stores will cost roughly between $5.33 and $6.40 for 16 ounces, Starbucks said.
Starbucks’s new-beverage launches over the decades have yielded hits such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte and generated billions of dollars in sales.