Japanese Starbucks almost alone in keeping beloved Princi brand of baked goods

Starbucks Corp. is removing the Princi brand of Italian baked goods from many of its higher-end cafes, stepping back from an initiative championed by longtime leader Howard Schultz.

The chain’s eight Roastery and Reserve locations in the U.S. and China will phase out the label, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News, which didn’t outline the timeline for the removal. The stores’ food assortment — which includes products such as a salami sandwich on focaccia bread and an Italian-style croissant — won’t change. But the Princi branding will be scrubbed.

Starbucks’ retreat from Princi marks another Schultz dream that fizzled, along with a goal to open more than two dozen Roastery locations around the world. The company bought a stake in the European purveyor of baked goods in 2016 after Schultz met baker Rocco Princi.

Schultz, who served as Starbucks’ chief executive officer three times and built the coffee chain into a global behemoth, has described the encounter as one of the two epiphanies he had in Italy — with the other being the espresso bars that provided the inspiration for the entire business.

“We look forward to continuing to offer customers at our Starbucks Reserve locations in the U.S. the same menu of handcrafted, artisanal food made from high-quality ingredients and prepared daily by our chefs,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement. The chain will continue using the Princi brand in 12 locales: its Milan Roastery, its Tokyo Roastery, and in 10 other stores in the Japanese capital.

The decision was made before Brian Niccol took over as CEO on Sept. 9 to address the company’s sales woes. It’s unclear why the branding is being removed.

In 2017, Starbucks announced that “freshly baked Italian food crafted from Rocco Princi’s recipes” would become the exclusive offering in all of its Reserve Roasteries, starting with its Seattle location. The partnership brought baking inside Starbucks for the first time in the chain’s history, according to the company.

Princi Bakery inside Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo.
| DENNIS A. AMITH

At the time, Schultz said Rocco Princi had created an “unparalleled” Italian food experience. “I think our customers are going to fall in love with Princi,” he added.

Schultz, who no longer has an official role at the company but remains one of its biggest shareholders, declined to comment for this story.

In addition to selling the products at its high-end locations, Starbucks also opened three standalone Princi bakeries in the U.S.. All have since closed.

Princi didn’t reply to a request for comment.

It’s not the first time Starbucks has brought in a food brand only to reverse course. It shelled out $100 million for La Boulange bakery in 2012 before shuttering its 23 storefronts three years later, though it kept offering the products at Starbucks locations. The company also acquired juice brand Evolution Fresh in 2011 and later closed its retail shops, also maintaining the lineup inside its cafes.

‘Immersive’ Experience

Starbucks started opening its Roasteries in 2014 as an elevated alternative to its everyday stores, which were becoming increasingly standardized as the company added locations and grew its to-go business. The stores are billed as an “immersive coffee experience” with tailored menus and on-site roasting of its “rarest, freshest beans.” That year, Schultz also said Starbucks would open the first of 100 or more Reserve shops around the world, which also offered a fancier experience, minus the on-site coffee roasting.

In 2016, Schultz said there were opportunities to open as many as 30 Roasteries in “influential cities” around the world. The company has six today, in Seattle, Chicago, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Milan.

Only some of the Roasteries make money, Schultz said in a podcast published in June. The stores are popular attractions, with locations in Chicago and New York often teeming with customers sipping on specialty drinks such as a whiskey barrel-aged cold brew or munching on a caprese and egg on ciabatta sandwich.

“You couldn’t put a price on the hundreds of thousands of people that come into this roastery and have an experience of a lifetime,” Schultz said on the podcast.