Starbucks is to close its La Boulange bakery outlets, however will continue to serve the brand in US stores.
The coffee giant acquired the bakery in 2012 in a $100m (£63m) deal, and has rolled out 23 La Boulange bakery cafes in the US and Canada- however these will shut by the end of September.
This comes as it deemed the cafes ‘not suitable for the company’s long term growth.’
Despite this, it said the brand would still play a ‘significant’ role in Starbucks in-store food offer, although the possibility of it moving into the UK sounded unlikely, as the company explained it had completed the roll out of La Boulange branded products in stores.
In 2013 the Starbucks UK managing director at the time, Kris Engskov, said it would be investing in its food offer across the UK. He has since been replaced by Mark Fox.
In a statement, it said: “Starbucks has successfully delivered an up-leveled food experience with the roll-out of La Boulange products in its US and Canada stores, which have been well received by customers.
“The company looks forward to serving delicious La Boulange food at its Starbucks retail locations in San Francisco and across the US and Canada.”
Along with the 23 La Boulange cafes, the company will shut two manufacturing sites which serve these locations.
Starbucks continued: “Food is a key element of Starbucks growth strategy to create new occasions to visit stores, and the company has seen tremendous response to these efforts since the acquisition of La Boulange.
“In the most recent quarter, (Q2 FY15) food delivered growth of 16% year-on-year.
“Sales of Starbucks new breakfast sandwiches have contributed a noteworthy 35% year-on-year growth in the breakfast platform.”
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