A Wren Says

I finally tried the Oleato drinks at Starbucks. They were available at the Starbucks in Manchester, CT. I hadn’t seen them anywhere else, not even at the Reserve I went to in New York. The barista said they had the drinks since June.  Upon the barista’s recommendation, I tried the Iced Shaken Espresso.

Here are my in the moment thoughts as I tried the shaken espresso:

It is interesting. There is a layer of oil on top. It is a high-quality olive oil. That I really appreciate. Drinking it straight from the sippy cup, all I get is oil. I’m going to get a straw. I mixed it up. It is much more balanced. Honestly this just seems like a vegan, natural alternative to adding something like heavy cream. You get the fat but you also get a distinct, almost fruit flavor. Dare I say I actually like this? I think I will come back tomorrow to try another.

And then I went back the next day to try the Golden Foam Cold Brew. I liked it. And then I was curious what olive oil they used. It was Partanna. And there it was, ready to be sold right there near the register.

What on the surface seems like an experimental coffee flavor offered by a major chain is really a deeper brand relationship. You can see this as partnership that goes beyond the flavors of the beverage. Partanna is considered one of the world’s best olive oils. By using the Partanna name explicitly, Starbucks elevates the perceptions of quality in the eyes of people in the know. On the flipside, by publicly partnering with Starbucks, Partanna is able to share its story with people who would not ordinarily interact with their product. And then on top of that, as it is put into the coffee beverages, it is marked as having an additional use. “Think beyond dipping your breads and cooking your pasta, our oil is more versatile than that.”

Regardless of whether you like coffee or olive oil or the two of them together, you have to give it Starbucks and Partanna. This seems like a great marketing recipe.