Starbucks CEO talks ‘unparalleled’ brand growth, joining the protein drink market
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol speaks with Gxstocks’ Liz Claman from the company’s leadership conference, where he weighs in on top priorities and growth strategies, as well as adding protein cold foam to drinks in menu innovation.
Four minutes or less. That is how long the Starbucks chief executive officer would like for it to take from order to drink in hand.
The new operating model is called "Green Apron Service," according to WGN. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said he believes it needs to become "the world's greatest customer service company again."
Niccol was at a Starbucks in suburban Chicago on Wednesday discussing the initiative, which is attempting to turn around lagging sales.
"It’s centered on putting enough partners on the roster in the stores and then deployed correctly so they can provide that customer connection, that experience, that frankly Starbucks really was founded on," he said.
STARBUCKS GETTING RID OF AN ORDERING OPTION AS CEO PUSHES TURNAROUND
A worker at a Starbucks coffee shop makes a drink at the Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A couple of weeks ago, Starbucks decided to sunset its mobile order and pickup-only concept in fiscal 2026 following an evaluation of its North American portfolio to ensure it has "the right coffeehouses in the right locations to drive profitability and deliver the Starbucks experience," Niccol said on the company's most recent earnings call.
Niccol said the grab and go model was "overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand." There are currently 80 to 90 of these locations. Some of them will not outright close, but instead be converted into traditional coffeehouses with seating.
STARBUCKS SETS NEW DRESS CODE FOR WORKERS AS IT REVAMPS CAFE LOOK
A Starbucks coffee shop in New York, on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Since taking over as CEO in the fall of 2024, Niccol has been trying to rebuild the company's culture through his "Back to Starbucks" strategy.
Niccol has pledged to increase investments in staffing in all 10,000-plus Starbucks-owned U.S. stores by the end of this summer. The company said it would invest more than half a billion dollars of additional labor hours in its U.S. company-operated stores over the next year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBUX | STARBUCKS CORP. | 94.18 | +0.81 | +0.87% |
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Starbucks' net revenue rose 3.8% to $9.46 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $9.31 billion, although its overall same-store sales fell 2% for the quarter ending June 29, its sixth straight quarterly contraction, Reuters reported. Analysts on average had estimated a 1.19% dip, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Customers in the drive-thru of a Starbucks coffee shop in Hercules, California, US, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
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In its largest North American market, the drop in quarterly same-store sales was steady at 2%.
Gxstocks' Daniella Genovese and Reuters contributed to this report.
