Starbucks CEO talks pricing, new technology to optimize wait times and the return of Sharpies

Innovation at Starbucks partly means getting return to his roots as a community coffee shop, but it also means creating a more efficient ordering process that the CEO hopes will one day make a freshly brewed cup of coffee in less than 30 seconds.

Brian Niccol, the new CEO who joined Starbucks in September to revitalize the 53-year-old American coffee giant that serves 100 million customers a week, spoke with ABC News chief business correspondent Rebecca Jarvis to discuss new developments under his leadership and commercial directions. the company is managed.

“I think what you’re going to see is a very orderly mobile ordering business with its own dedicated pickup area,” he said of his vision for what Starbucks would look like in five years. “You’re going to have an experience where when you come in and interact with the barista, it’s going to be very quick for that cup of brewed coffee. Hopefully we can get you a cup of brewed coffee in less than 30 seconds.”

Since joining the Seattle-based company, Niccol has already made positive changes that have been appreciated by his customers, such as eliminate the supplement on vegetable milk.

Now, he said customers can expect more changes, starting with “simple things, the return of Sharpies.”

“(We’re) bringing back the Coffee Condiment Bar so you can take your brewed cup of coffee and treat it the way you want,” Niccol continued. “You’ll see us continue to look at how can we make it easier for you to get your coffee, get the drink you want? And then also simplify the execution for our baristas and partners to offer customers the experience they want.

Given customer demand for speed and options, Niccol said “right now,” the company is “investing in how we build technology so that when a mobile order comes in, we let’s basically give you a time when your drink will be ready.”

“Today, you know, we just kind of give you an estimate of, ‘Hey, it’ll be ready in three to five minutes.’ In the future, what will happen is we’ll say, “Rebecca, your drink will be ready at nine,” instead of just being prepared, sitting on the counter (and) waiting for people to come. “

While working to improve in-store ordering, Niccol’s goal is to have espresso drinks out in less than four minutes. But that also means a smaller menu.

“We have a lot of deals and there are only one or two ordered a day,” he said. “The way I talk about it is we’re going to do fewer things, but we’re going to do fewer things better.”

And for now, the former Chipotle CEO said that unlike his previous company which announced a 2% price increase on Wednesday, Starbucks is sticking with its current prices.

“The approach we’ve taken right now is we’re going to hit the pause button at all costs for this financial year,” he said. “I still think we have an opportunity to simplify the pricing architecture right now. I don’t like the fact that in our app right now, while you’re doing that customization, it doesn’t tell you what’s When it comes to price,” he noted for example, “so I want to be more transparent when it comes to pricing.”

Niccol also showed ABC News one of his favorite places, the quality control area at his Seattle headquarters, where teams of trained coffee professionals test each batch of coffee each morning by sight, smell and taste in the tasting room.

Adrienne Dewey, vice president of global coffee and tea quality, described how she and her team test 500 cups per day from 100 batches of beans from around the world. The team looks for sensory abnormalities and uses special tools like a “suction spoon.”

In demonstrating the taste test, Dewey said: “We’re going to make a loud drink – and you’re going to really aerate it through your palate, because most of our sense of taste comes from aroma, from smell “, explaining the process. . “In general, the louder the better.”