Starbucks is in its wellness era.
The coffee giant is doubling down on healthy drink and snack options, because that’s “how people want to eat,” especially in the afternoon, CEO Brian Niccol said during Starbucks’ first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday.
“You’ll continue to see us push against the health and wellness platform going forward,” Niccol said. “In beverage, I think it is going to be this personalized energy that can be executed as still, sparkling, and blended, so there’s a pipeline for that platform.”
Niccol said there’s a real opportunity to ensure Starbucks offers food people are excited to make part of their afternoon “reset,” including snackable options heavy on protein and fiber.
Starbucks saw big success with customers following the September 2025 rollout of its protein cold foams and enriched drink options, which the company previously credited with helping break a seven-quarter sales slump.
In early January, Starbucks launched a partnership with Khloé Kardashian’s Khloud popcorn, a protein-enriched kettle corn snack, and debuted its truffle, mushroom, and Brie egg bites, highlighting its protein content in marketing materials.
Niccol didn’t share more specifics on the wellness expansion on Wednesday’s earnings call, but CFO Cathy Smith said the protein launch has been a traffic driver, offering Starbucks access to new customers on new occasions throughout the day.
Niccol said focusing on health-forward options will help build on the company’s turnaround momentum as it seeks to revitalize the business and return Starbucks to the “third place” where people spend time outside work and home.
Starbucks’ first-quarter results impressed Wall Street on Wednesday. The chain’s stock opened 9% higher after it reported its first comparable transaction increase in the US in eight quarters.
Even Niccol himself appears to be getting in on the protein craze. On Wednesday’s call, the CEO said that he “might have started my day with a vanilla protein latte.”
The key, he said, is getting the word about the offering to more people.
“Awareness is still pretty surprisingly low, but the trial and the repeat rates are really, really great — meaning, when someone tries it, we see a high level of repeat, and it has proven to be highly incremental,” Niccol said. “So this is one we want to keep doing.”
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