(Bloomberg) — Starbucks Corp., which built a loyal following in part by selling sugary candy-colored drinks, has a vision for a healthier menu that\u2019s better suited for the MAHA era.<\/p>\n
Most Read from Bloomberg<\/p>\n
It\u2019s testing matcha and cold brew made with coconut water. It\u2019s exploring syrups sweetened with agave instead of sugar. It\u2019s been piloting a protein-infused cold foam and looking into more plant-based products.<\/p>\n
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. On Tuesday, the company reported its sixth straight quarter of same-store sales declines and a steeper-than-expected drop in profits. The menu revamp is one element of a turnaround plan put into place by Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol that has yet to bear fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working on sugar reduction,\u201d Dana Pellicano, who leads product development at Starbucks, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cactively working on\u201d other sugar-free beverages, Pellicano said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. put a spotlight on the company when he said that CEO Niccol pledged that Starbucks would \u201cfurther MAHA\u201d its menu.<\/p>\n
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 flavors, years ago. It launched the sugar-free matcha in January, before Kennedy was confirmed to his post.<\/p>\n
Story Continues <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s planning vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s successful, a wider release will follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the industry leader in customization,\u201d she said, adding that Starbucks wants customers to find something on its menu \u201cwithout having to sacrifice how they want to feel about their choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Adds information from company\u2019s earnings in fourth graf.)<\/p>\n
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Bloomberg) — Starbucks Corp., which built a loyal following in part by selling sugary candy-colored drinks, has a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7904,36346,28,37571,37572,37573,37574,36345],"class_list":{"0":"post-48181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-bloomberg","9":"tag-brian-niccol","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-coconut-water","12":"tag-dana-pellicano","13":"tag-matcha-powder","14":"tag-pellicano","15":"tag-starbucks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}