In a surprising move, Starbucks to close La Boulange but continue using the recipes at its Starbucks locations.
Just three years after purchasing La Boulange, Starbucks has decided to close down all of the pastry shop locations, according to a report by Business Insider. The announcement of the closures came as a shock to some, because it was believed that the initial intention was for Starbucks to expand this small pastry business from a mere 23 locations to over 400 locations within the next few years.
Although many expected this pastry chain to expand, some feel that Starbucks had never intended to take this chain too far. Looking back at the beginning, it didn’t seem like they were going to be growing La Boulange, Darren Tristano executive vice president of Technomic told Business Insider.
After purchasing La Boulange, Starbucks gained access to the recipes for its creations. Those recipes then made it into the already successful chain of Starbucks stores. After the introduction of those pastries, Starbucks food sales experienced an increase of 16%, reported Business Insider. By closing down the La Boulange chain and using the recipes to drive food sales in the Starbucks chain, Starbucks is reaping all of the benefits of La Boulange pastries, without having the extra strain of managing additional stores. La Boulange was not beneficial to the long-term growth of the company; therefore, it was in the company’s best interest to close the chain.
