It’s pumpkin spice season, and Starbucks is raking in the profits. The coffee giant launched its fall seasonal offerings last week, including the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL), and the company has already seen an increase in sales, according to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.
In an internal memo on Monday seen by Bloomberg, Niccol said that the fall products, including pumpkin-flavored offerings like the latte, pumpkin cream cold brew, and iced pumpkin cream chai, helped Starbucks “deliver a record-breaking sales week” at its U.S. company-operated stores last week.
Starbucks first introduced the PSL in 2003, marking over two decades of the popular drink. There have been hundreds of millions of units of the beverage sold since launch.
Starbucks had 41,097 stores as of July, with 53% operated by the company and 47% licensed.
The news of rising sales arrives as Starbucks is in the midst of a turnaround, working to reverse consecutive quarters of declining sales. Niccol is in charge of the effort; under his leadership, Starbucks has adopted a “Back to Starbucks” plan designed to bring customers back to stores.
Changes under the plan include cutting 30% of the Starbucks menu, making coffee more quickly, and personalizing customers’ orders by writing names down in Sharpie on their cups.
Starbucks is also adding new offerings, like protein cold foam with 15 grams of protein and no added sugar, in the coming year. It is additionally reducing sugar in drinks by adding coconut water-based drinks, like coconut-water matcha and cold brew.
In July, Starbucks reported its sixth consecutive quarter of declining store sales. According to the coffee chain’s earnings report for the quarter ending June 29, store sales dropped by 2% worldwide and in North America. However, net revenue rose 4% to $9.5 billion in the quarter, a 3% jump.
In the earnings report, Niccol stated that the company is “ahead of schedule” to “unleash a wave of innovation” next year.
Niccol also announced a mandate in July that corporate employees come back to the office four days a week, up from three, starting at the beginning of the company’s fiscal quarter in October.
It’s pumpkin spice season, and Starbucks is raking in the profits. The coffee giant launched its fall seasonal offerings last week, including the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL), and the company has already seen an increase in sales, according to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.
In an internal memo on Monday seen by Bloomberg, Niccol said that the fall products, including pumpkin-flavored offerings like the latte, pumpkin cream cold brew, and iced pumpkin cream chai, helped Starbucks “deliver a record-breaking sales week” at its U.S. company-operated stores last week.
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