Shine OnHow does Starbucks create a new beverage?
The latest holiday drink offering from Starbucks – the Chestnut Praline Latte – was recently released, and made a big buzz for being the first new holiday beverage they’ve released in five years.
We were so taken with the new drink that we had to find out what goes into the making of one, so we spoke to Amy Dilger, a trained pastry chef who’s worked for the company for the last 15 years. She currently works in their beverage research and development lab and gave us the exclusive details on how the drink came to be.
Yahoo Canada Shine: How does the team come up with ideas for new beverages or flavour combos?
AD: Before we even start a project, we explore. We scan the world, the market place, speak with culinary and design friends, talk to our partners (employees), store managers and customers. As an R&D team, we scour the globe for ingredients, inspiration and trends and then we bring them back to the lab and see how they can work with our espresso.
YCS: What does the process look like from conception, through development, to getting a new drink in stores?
AD: It’s a fun process! The Starbucks R&D team team gets together in our research and development space within our Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. We experiment with different recipes to see how we can create new exciting offerings that complement Starbucks coffee and espresso. We’ll work continuously on various concepts and flavors and each idea goes through many iterations before they even reach customers.
Chestnut Praline was one of several flavours we explored in late 2012. We took the concept to our leadership teams, and this particular beverage was one of two that we decided to really focus on. We then further refined it and tested it in a handful of markets in the United States in 2013, where it received a very enthusiastic response. We’re very excited to introduce it throughout both the U.S. and Canada this year.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire are so quintessentially holiday. They have a beautiful creamy texture and a sweet nutty flavour that intensifies when they are roasted. They also pair exceptionally well with coffee. In creating the Chestnut Praline Latte, we bought chestnuts from local markets, roasted them and sampled them with our espresso. We added a buttery praline for crunch and sweetness and the flavours came together beautifully.
YCS: Do your baristas go through a special training for crafting these new drinks to perfection for customers?
AD: Every season, partners get to know the new offerings and we encourage them to craft and taste them so they can create the best experience for customers every time. Partners are also consulted during the development process, to leverage their insight on consumer preferences and to provide input on what they’ve heard in terms of consumer requests and trends. Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte received one of the highest product scores of all time when we tested it in select U.S. markets.
YCS: Is there anything about beverage development that people would be surprised to learn?
AD: Starbucks has a sensory department which is part of product testing.
The Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte was the first of eight beverage concepts we created for this year’s holiday season – it ended up being the final beverage selected based on customer and partner feedback.
We draw inspiration from everywhere – from dessert menus to fine dining establishments to bath and body products.
YCS: What’s the reaction been like to the Chestnut Praline so far?
Canada was one of the first markets in the world to launch the Chestnut Praline Latte and the response to date has been phenomenal. We just launched it in the U.S. this week but already we’re getting great feedback.
