Starbucks. That is the theme here. So, let's find out exactly what that means with chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who came from Chipotle. I have to tell you, the last time we spoke, we were talking about burrito bowls.
Oh, that's right. Yeah. And I still love burritos, but now I really love espresso.
Now you really love espresso. Tell me about this event and what does back to Starbucks mean for you?
Yeah, look, back to Starbucks is really a simple idea of reclaiming the third place and reclaiming the soul of the brand. And the soul of the brand has always been centered on community and the humanity of connecting between a barista and a customer. And that's what we're getting back to doing.
Can you define the third place? I know what it is, but people out there.
Well, funny enough, I actually asked ChatGPT and it came back and said it's actually a place where people want to connect and it's needed more than ever. Despite everybody saying they're more connected through digital platforms or social media, they actually say they're more lonely than they've ever been, even in their own community. And so I think it's paramount that Starbucks gets back to recreating those places where communities come together, people come together, and they have that connection with the barista and obviously their community.
This team building event. Look, we can pan over and you can see all of the kinds of beans and you're explaining to the 14,000 employees, which by the way is no small feat. You flew 14,000 people from Canada and America to this event and this has set the vision. What is the vision you want to impart to them about the new Starbucks?
Yeah. Look, first of all, it's really energizing to have everybody together. We're going to start doing some of our general sessions where we'll have the entire arena filled with folks. As I affectionately call, you'll see and feel the green wave and that's what's going to happen here. The idea of setting the vision is we are committed to having coffee that's unparalleled. And so when we set the vision that we're going to have great coffee for our customers every single time that they come in and they get that connection, that's what these coffee house leaders do every single time. And they're the ones that set the vision for their team. They set the standard for their store and frankly they define the experience of Starbucks. They are the brand in and of itself.
Well, they're that first line. Absolutely. So you want them to be very welcoming. I understand that you're going back to messages on the cup.
Yeah, that's fun. And part of the reason why we're getting back to doing that is it's another way to connect with your customer, even if it's just as brief as like thank you, you're welcome, or have a great day, a smiley face. It doesn't take much. And I think so much in today's world, it's like we're rushing and rushing and rushing and we act as if we're connected. But if you just take a second to pause and really have a connection with something as simple as like have a great day, it goes such a long way.
Well, let's walk along here and I would like to just say that to that end, it feels like Starbucks has gotten a little bit like fast food, transactional and hectic. So, how do you change that while still fulfilling orders in under four minutes? That is a big challenge.
Yeah. Look, just to hear that comment of the idea that we've gotten transactional and just focused on convenience, that almost breaks my heart because the reality is that is not what Starbucks is. If you go back even 20 years ago, our baristas were able to get people their drinks in less than 3 minutes. And really all I wanted to do with the time standard is to help us prioritize mobile orders, drive-thru, and in-store cafe customers. And when you just have that time standard, it helps us organize how you sequence drinks, how you sequence the order so people get their food and drink in a timely fashion. Doesn't take away from the craft, doesn't take away from the ability to connect, and it doesn't take away the ability to create a great third place.
But you want to have that third place where people come and stay and hang out.
Okay, so let's talk about... You know what? That's why things like ceramic mugs coming back. They're coming back. Great seats coming back. Great environment, music, scent, our partners engaging with you at your table.
I have to ask like kind of an analyst question. You want comfortable seating? That means less seating.
No, not necessarily. I think when you look at our stores, one of the things we haven't done a great job of is making sure that we have all the types of seating that our customers want. There's some customers that want the high top like us. There's some customers that want that comfy chair. So, I'm not saying all the seats need to be the comfy chair. That's for the person that probably wants to read a book, have a cup of coffee. Person that wants to have a meeting, they probably want a four-top where you got four seats with a table where you can put up your laptop. So, we need to be able to have all these occasions in our stores so that you truly have that community experience.
When you were at Chipotle, you were known as a menu innovator. Now, it looks like you want to be a menu slimmer. Bring it down a little bit. What does that mean for people? And I can pretty much guarantee everybody watching right now has been in a Starbucks at some point in your life, right? And a lot of them love that because they feel that they're part of generation C. C for custom. They want to come in and have six different things on a single drink order. What would you say to them about simplification of a menu? Now, does that mean that those special orders are going away?
No, not at all. Look, the customization is always going to be a part of Starbucks. It's your drink. And really what our baristas want to do is they want to do their craft so they get you exactly what you want. The menu simplification exercise really was all about clearing the table so that we could do the innovative things that we want to do going forward. We're going to continue to lead and innovate. I don't know if you had the opportunity to try, but we're sampling right now for folks cold foam, a banana protein cold foam, a chocolate protein cold foam. It's delicious. It's innovative and it's how people want to experience their coffee going forward. So you're going to be able to customize flavor, protein, and still get your caffeine experience that you want.
Okay. Protein is a big issue here. So, are you purchasing protein in bulk now? I mean, that's got to be a big headline, I would think.
