Starbucks Reformulates Breakfast Sandwiches
Only a few months ago, Stabrucks’ CEO Howard Schultz said breakfast sandwiches would be eliminated from menus because the scent distracted from the chain’s signature coffee aroma. Now, however, the chain is keeping the sandwiches but reformulating the recipe.
Many industry observers, however, believed sales of the breakfast sandwiches were tepid, which was the real reason they were being phased out.
"We're not reversing our breakfast sandwich strategy. Rather, it's an evolution," Starbucks spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil told the Wall Street Journal.
The company plans to use a new type of cheese in the sandwiches and less butter in the eggs, which will both containing the smell during cooking and improve the taste, O’Neil told the Wall Street Journal.
The sandwiches, which accounted for about 3 percent of sales at stores where they are sold (about 4,000 units), also have lower profit margins than Starbucks' beverages. The objective of the breakfast sandwich program was to increase average transactions and try to offer customer a reason not to make a second stop for their breakfast food.
The strategy was also intended to blunt the effectiveness of new specialty coffee program being rolled out at other restaurant chains, including McDonald’s.
To shore up sales and increase profits, the Seattle-based operator of approximately 11,000 stores in the U.S., is closing 600 units nationwide. It also recently introduced a smoothie drink called Vivanno and high-fiber baked good to appeal to health-seeking customers.