The coffee chain debuted the product in around 300 Southern California stores last summer, but it failed to impress consumers, and cleaning the machine that dispensed Sorbetto was apparently a bane to baristas, who complained that it added about 45 minutes to closing duties.
Sorbetto wasn’t available in stores this summer and Starbucks has started removing the large Sorbetto machines, which have sat idle for months on store counters.
Starbucks chief executive, Howard Schultz, has an investment fund that backs Pinkberry, and some analysts said the introduction of Sorbetto showed how little testing some new Starbucks products got before hitting stores.
In a statement, the company confirmed that it will discontinue its Sorbetto products without abandoning its search for new icy beverages.
So why did this seemingly fun and delicious combination not work out? According to Cos La Porta, a Starbucks senior vice president quoted in the LA Times, the product went from inspiration to market in just four months, and some analysts believe that there was therefore very little consumer testing before the product hit stores.
Sorbetto also launched at the same time as Starbucks Vivanno Smoothies, which targeted the same smoothie/icy-loving, health-conscious consumers. But it’s possible that the major reason for the products withdrawal is that the baristas themselves never fully embraced the offering, complaining that the machines were too labour-intensive and time consuming.
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