The Death of Chantico
Starbucks has been a huge success story. I recently read (I think in Fast Company) that the company opens up an average of 5 new locations per day, which is tremendous.
So, how did such a successful company screw up so drastically on Chantico?
Chantico — the rich, indulgent chocolate drink that was introduced about this time last year — ended up being a complete flop. In fact, Starbucks recently decided to discontinue the drink altogether.
So what was the reason for the failure? There are several rumors in circulation, but the two that make the most sense to me are:
1 Astronomical Calorie Count
Indeed, this drink was plugged as the ‘drinkable dessert’ for good reason. It was even decadent compared to their *normally* decadent drinks, which is saying a lot. Basically, Chantico was a liquid heart attack.
2 No Individuality Allowed
The Chantico was a an ‘as-is’ product that came with non-customizable ingredients in a single-size cup. This was totally unlike the rest of the Starbucks menu, which can be personalized to the nth degree.
For those (very, very few) of you sad to see Chantico go, no worries — Starbucks has not given up on chocolate drinks entirely. I’ve read in various places that the company will introduce other (less indulgent) chocolate drinks soon, so stay tuned…
Sources: Is Chocolate Hot?, Chantico and Coffee Don’t Mix?, Hot Beverages: Striking the Health-Indulgence Balance, The (anticipated) demise of Chantico