Changes are coming for the country’s largest coffee chain. On Monday, March 4, Starbucks will remove 13 non-seasonal drinks from their menu, including several blended Frappuccino drinks, the Royal English breakfast latte, and the white hot chocolate. This followed news the previous day that Starbucks will lay off 1,100 corporate employees this week.
In a press release on their website published on Tuesday, March 25, Starbucks announced the reduced menu. According to the site, these drinks are not very popular, are more complicated to make than other drinks, or are too similar to other drinks on the Starbucks menu. The Seattle-based company goes on to say that paring down their menu would let it focus more on “fewer, more popular items, executed with excellence.”
Here is the full list of drinks that will disappear on March 4, along with their description from the Starbucks website:
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- Honey Almondmilk Flat White: “This flat white intentionally pairs almond milk and Blonde Espresso Roast with a hint of honey, making a perfect amount of creamy, nutty sweetness.”
- Iced Matcha Lemonade: “Our new unsweetened matcha green tea with crisp lemonade shaken with ice and classic syrup to create a vibrant and refreshing boost that can be sweetened to your taste.”
- White Hot Chocolate: “A traditional hot chocolate beverage made with white chocolate sauce and steamed milk, topped with whipped cream.”
- White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino: “White chocolate roast coffee, milk, and ice get together for what might be the best thing that happens to you all day. Oh, and there’s whipped cream on top.”
- Java Chip Frappuccino: “We blend mocha sauce and Frappuccino chips with coffee, milk, and ice, then top it off with whipped cream and a mocha drizzle to bring you endless joy.”
- Royal English Breakfast Latte: “A select blend of rich, full-leaf black teas from India and Sri Lanka, sweetened just right, and combined with milk and ice.”
- Espresso Frappuccino: “Coffee is combined with a shot of espresso and milk, then blended with ice to give you a nice little jolt and lots of sipping joy.”
- Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino: “We take roast coffee and vanilla bean powder, combine them with milk and ice, topped with whipped cream. Tastes like happiness.”
Starbucks is also discontinuing all five of their crème-based Frappuchino blended drinks. Crème is like regular cream but thicker with a higher fat content. While these Frappachinos will no longer be on the menu, most Starbucks will still carry the regular cream versions and will still have crème on hand, so customers should be able to special order these drinks for the near future. These Frappuccinos include the White Chocolate Crème Frappuccino, Chai Crème Frappuccino, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Crème Frappuccino, Double Chocolaty Chip Crème Frappuccino, and Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino.
By taking these drinks off the menu, Starbucks believes they will reduce wait times and improve consistency. Their press release also said that cutting these menu items would allow them to introduce more seasonal specials, like the Iced Cherry Chai added in January and the upcoming Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha coming for spring.
These 13 are just the first of many items that will be leaving Starbucks’ menu. In their press release, Starbucks says that they will remove “roughly 30% reduction of menu items by the end of fiscal year 2025.” At time of writing, there are 203 items on the Starbucks menu (though not all stores carry all items). A 30% cut means that around 47 more food and drink items will be discontinued over the next few months.
While Starbucks claims these menu cuts are being done to “make way for innovation,” recent moves by the company indicate that Starbucks wants to cut costs. On February 24, Starbucks announced that 1,100 of its 16,000 corporate support employees—around 7%—will be dismissed at the end of the week. These cuts will impact multiple countries but not any of the 361,000 baristas and store managers Starbucks employs.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who has led Starbucks since last September, said that these cuts will allow the company to “operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity, and drive better integration.” Store sales have already declined by 4% this year as Starbucks faces growing inflation and more competition from younger brands like Dutch Bros.
