Starbucks is placing a large wager on coffee with olive oil added in the hopes that consumers will be intrigued by the novelty and the advantages of extra virgin olive oil for their health. “It is one of the biggest launches we’ve had in decades,” Brady Brewer, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, told CNN. Former CEO Howard Schultz added in an interview with Poppy Harlow that it will “transform the coffee industry,” and be “a very profitable new addition to the company.”
But here’s something the business might not have considered: Some clients claim they are compelled to quickly use the loo as a result. “Half the team tried it yesterday and a few ended up… needing to use the restroom, if ya know what I mean,” a barista on the Starbucks Reddit page posted.
Olive oil is a mainstay in Mediterranean culture
It might be the sheen of the oil. It could also be the aftertaste. Social media was quick to criticise the drink – and its consequences. One user tweeted, “That oleato drink from Starbs is making my stomach speak.” Those who have sensitive stomachs are already on guard. “This is an IBD patient. “I wouldn’t touch these with a ten-foot pole,” one Redditor commented.
Oleato, the new platform, was launched in Italy in February. Each beverage (oat milk latte, ice-shaken espresso with oat milk, and golden foam cold brew) has a teaspoon of oil, which adds 120 calories to the drink. Starbucks locations in Seattle and Los Angeles, as well as Reserve locations in Chicago, Seattle, and New York, are now serving the platform of beverages. Olive oil is a mainstay in Mediterranean culture, and some people in the region consume olive oil on a daily basis. However, the Starbucks drink contains a potentially dangerous combination of stimulant caffeine and relaxant olive oil.
A 16-ounce drink can contain up to 34 grammes of fat, which is more than many people find in a meal
According to registered dietitian nutritionist Erin Palinski-Wade, a 16-ounce drink can contain up to 34 grammes of fat, which is more than many people find in a meal. Mineral oils, such as olive oil, are commonly used to treat constipation because they soften the stool, making it simpler to go to the bathroom. “If you combined high fat in a meal or in a beverage along with coffee, which already stimulates the bowels,” Palinski-Wade said, “that combination can cause cramping. It can cause increased mobility in the colon and therefore have that laxative effect.”
Some customers said the speed at which they had to use the restroom after having the drink caught them off guard. But high-fat meals take longer to digest than liquid olive oil, which will hit the digestive tract faster, Palinski-Wade said. And most people in the US are drinking coffee on the go and aren’t pairing the drink with any carbohydrates and fibres to negate the impact.
The benefits of olive oil have been widely publicized
The benefits of olive oil have been widely publicized, with claims ranging from lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease to lowering blood pressure (though the positive health outcomes could be because the Mediterranean diet replaces unhealthy fats like butter with olive oil, The New York Times reported.) “(The drink) is not going to make somebody physically ill from the standpoint of having a negative impact on health,” Palinski-Wade said. “But more of that uncomfortable feeling of having to go in the bathroom or potentially cramping.”
In the Mediterranean, taking a spoonful of olive oil a day is part of a daily routine. Former CEO Howard Schultz picked up this habit himself from olive oil producer Tommaso Asaro while in Sicily, Italy. “When we got together and started doing this ritual I said to [Asaro], I know you think I’m going to be crazy, but have you ever thought of infusing a tablespoon of olive oil with Starbucks coffee?” Schultz told CNN’s, Poppy Harlow. “He thought it was a little strange.” Asaro is the chairman of United Olive Oil, through which Starbucks is sourcing its olive oil.