It turns out in the case of Starbucks, the customer is indeed always right.
Bowing down to customer demands, Starbucks is bringing back a few pastries from its old menu. According to the Associated Press, the Seattle-based company will begin offering some longtime items that it shelved following its 2012 $100 million purchase of La Boulange, a gourmet baking company.
"We've got a few products that we are going to bring back from the old menu," Troy Alstead, chief operating officer for Seattle-based Starbucks, said in an interview, according to Bloomberg. "Some customers missed a few things."
Starting this week, customers visiting U.S. stores will have the option of pumpkin, iced lemon and banana loaf cake. Starbucks will be using new La Boulange recipes and existing suppliers to create food. The products will closely resemble its previous products that customers used to buy.
Customers have been complaining that the coffee chain has become too "fancy" with its gourmet La Boulange menu and that its newer pastries were pricier, smaller and less tasty. The AP reported that Starbucks offered miniature loaves for $2.45, an increase of 20 cents.
According to Lisa Passe, a Starbucks spokeswoman, the company realized that "people really like the familiar, sliced cake." In 2012, Starbucks acquired La Boulange baking company to reinvent its food offerings by producing its baked goods with better ingredients.
Starbucks Corp has been trying to boost sales by convincing customers to grab a bite with their drinks. Over the years, the chain has changed some of its recipes to include healthier ingredients, such as replacing the white cheddar cheese with a reduced fat version, in its turkey bacon sandwich.
The new baked goods will be available at the company's 3,500 U.S. locations.
