Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls new olive oil coffee drinks 'transformational'

Starbucks' caller enactment of olive oil-infused java drinks could disrupt the industry, interim CEO Howard Schultz told CNBC's Jim Cramer connected Tuesday.

"This is simply a transformational infinitesimal successful the past of our institution creating a caller category, a caller platform," Schultz told CNBC's "Mad Money." He said Starbucks' caller olive-oil coffee, which helium conceived aft an inspirational travel to Sicily, volition beryllium incremental to the concern implicit time.

The drinks debut Wednesday astatine the company's 25 Italy locations. Schultz believes it volition beryllium a "market-maker" successful an manufacture that has felt the squeeze of tightening user demand. The "Oleato," which is named aft the Italian connection for "with oil," volition travel to the U.S. this spring, starting successful California.

Alongside olive lipid coffee, Starbucks is besides unveiling an Oleato espresso martini, which volition beryllium disposable successful prime locations successful Italy, arsenic good arsenic Seattle and New York.

Schultz is launching the caller java enactment up of his April departure arsenic interim CEO. Incoming main enforcement Laxman Narasimhan will instrumentality implicit the position, though Schultz, 69, volition support his committee spot and enactment arsenic an ambassador for the Oleato brand.

"I'll transportation the Starbucks emblem and the American emblem each implicit the satellite for Oleato," said Schultz, who volition beryllium concluding his 3rd tenure arsenic main executive. "But marque nary mistake, Laxman is the CEO and astatine the yearly gathering connected March 23, there's lone 1 person astatine Starbucks. It's going to beryllium him."

Starbucks' olive lipid java comes arsenic the institution continues to navigate a pugnacious macro environment, though Schultz has maintained optimism. He noted that the institution has added astir $40 cardinal to its marketplace headdress since helium started arsenic interim CEO.

To beryllium sure, Starbucks has raised prices astir 5% to offset inflation, but Schultz said helium does not expect immoderate much increases.

"I'm not disquieted astir ostentation going forward, and I mightiness beryllium the lone CEO successful America that feels similar we're going to person a brushed landing," said Schultz.

The institution has seen sagging planetary income aft a resurgence successful Covid cases successful China led to shrinking request successful that market. Going forward, Schultz is anticipating a rebound for China and for user request astatine large.

"The upwind is astatine our back," Schultz said.