Starbucks plans to expand its lunch offerings in 2015 as it seeks to boost US sales with menu items that draw customers after the morning rush.
The world’s largest coffee-shop chain is aiming to double food revenue to more than $4 billion in the next five years, the company told investors at a conference at its Seattle headquarters today. The percentage of its sales that come from food will expand as US coffee drinkers get used to the idea of buying meals at its cafes, Starbucks said.
“We’ve had to help our customers learn we have different food,” chief operating officer Troy Alstead said in a phone interview before the conference. “The food rollout has been the most operationally complex thing we’ve ever done in our stores.”
The menu expansion began earlier this year, helping food contribute 2 percentage points to same-store sales growth in recent quarters, Starbucks said. The chain has been testing new lunch sandwiches in the US and adding more bakery items and breakfast fare.
Starbucks’ plan runs counter to efforts at McDonald’s and Burger King Worldwide, which have been trimming their menus and offering simpler items to make it easier for workers to prepare food and speed up service.
Bloomberg News, edited by Hospitality Ireland
