SEATTLE Starting in May, Starbucks customers will be able to customize their Frappuccinos much the same way they can for the coffeehouse giant's other drinks.
Calling it a rollout of the “however-you-want-it Frappuccino,” Starbucks officials said Wednesday that the blended drinks in U.S. and Canadian stores will be fully customizable, allowing customers to order soy milk instead of dairy, decaffeinated coffee, an extra shot of espresso, light syrup or no whipped cream, for example.
Frappuccino drinkers who asked for decaf or other alternatives in the past were told it was not possible. With the change, however, Starbucks said it could better meet customer needs, especially those of guests who want to reduce calories.
The move is expected to boost sales during the summer, when iced drinks are in demand and hot coffee purchases typically slow. Some, however, reportedly fear that giving consumers more choices will slow service.
Starbucks is teaching baristas a more efficient Frappuccino-making process and installing better blenders in stores to cut production time and noise, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
For the December-ended first quarter, Starbucks reported its first same-store sales increase in two years, which officials credited in part to the brisk sales of the new Via instant coffee.
Seattle-based Starbucks operates or licenses 11,181 stores in the United States and another 5,500 internationally.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
