Recently, Anne Steib posted a great article detailing all the new gluten-free offerings at Starbucks. It was nice to find out that the large chain seemed to listen to the zillions of consumers that complained when the gluten-free cake (that the coffee giant introduced last May) was dropped. The company announced the big cake cancellation news via Twitter, by the way. Personally, I didn’t think that method of communication was appropriate for the news, but I’m kind of old school that way.
Many people are excited with the new gluten-free offerings and even I have to admit that they are certainly plentiful. However, seeing packages of cookies and KIND bars (the latter of which is always in my car storage compartment) somehow isn’t floating the boat of this gluten-free consumer. When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, it was kind of hard for me to meet one of my girlfriends at Starbucks. She has a real sweet tooth and of course if I wanted something to eat there, I had to have food in my purse. Finally, we eventually stopped meeting there because I just did not enjoy it anymore. The funny thing is that when I ate gluten, I might have purchased something to eat during 10% of my visits there. What bothered me was that the dessert case was full of items I could not longer eat and I didn’t understand, and still don’t, why at least ONE of them could not be gluten-free. Worried about cross contamination? Keep the gluten-free cake wrapped in plastic in the case – problem solved.
At a few of the stores in our area, the Starbucks employees didn’t get what gluten-free meant and didn’t understand why the cake was wrapped in plastic so they removed the cake from the package and placed them on a tray inside the pastry case. Most of the people I know that can’t eat gluten would probably skip buying the cake if they walked into the store and saw the cake unwrapped in the case with all the gluten items. The cakes had no expiration date on them but in fact, the company employees reported that they went bad very quickly. In our area, people thought there were hairs in the cake but it was just the orange oil breaking down. It was fairly unappetizing to say the least. When online posts started up about hair in the gluten-free cake at Starbucks, I remember thinking that it would likely be dropped from the line-up fairly soon.
Since I want to support the efforts of Starbucks, I decided that I would at least take a look at all the new gluten-free items they’d brought in. i was not going to kill the environment by driving there just to do this but I’d look if I was in the vicinity of a Starbucks. The first two places I checked had nothing in terms of gluten-free snacks. Finally, at the location on the Decatur square, I found most of the new gluten-free snacks. I thought the store did a great job with the display of the items. As I stood in line to order a coffee, I noticed the pastry case that was full of some of the most delicious looking pastries I’d seen in a long time. Buying a bag of cookies, a KIND bar, some dried fruit (or fruit leathers) or granola suddenly seemed out of the question. Ordering a delicious Mocha satisfied my sweet craving just fine, so at least the visit wasn’t a complete waste of time.
It occurred to me that some others might feel the same way about these new gluten-free options at Starbucks. The overwhelming majority of people seem to be satisfied and I truly wish I could get excited about them myself. Do any of our readers wish that Starbucks would have offered something decadent and FRESH tasting – instead of all the pre-packaged items now in their extensive gluten-free line up?
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Nice to hear. Wish more places were like that!! 
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Hi, Tiffany! Great job – love the articles and really appreciate receiving this feed!
I’m honestly super pleased that Starbucks has added their g-f cookies and Kind bars and think they should be applauded for their effort. I hated their orange cake when I tried it starving in a pinch. The Lucy cookies hit the spot for me – particularly when I’m traveling with my son and hunger hits for either of us- I’m grateful to have a quick place to stop in and grab something.
From a business perspective, it’s a much smarter move to do packaged vs fresh. I’m just pleased that they have something available for the g-f community. If 80% of the stores have to throw away the “fresh” g-f food, it’s just not sustainable. I think their current strategy is right on and provides an option to the g-f community without breaking the bank. I am filled with appreciation that they offer anything at all g-f.
Keep up the great work – really look forward to the updates!
Hi Tiffany!
I am so glad you touched on this subject!! I too, am pleased with the variety of options and the effort that Starbucks has put forward to accommodate their gluten-free customers, but I totally agree with you! I do not go to Starbucks often and when I do, it is usually with some girlfriends for a leisurely afternoon of gabbing. I would love to have a moist baked good with my latte, just like my friends!
I like the KIND bars, but they are just not my idea of a treat to have with an afternoon cup of Joe. I have always thought an individually wrapped Lemon Streusel Muffin, Blueberry Muffin or Cinnamon Roll from Udi’s would be perfect! Udi’s and Starbucks really should collaborate on this! Gluten-Free Houston should also get involved and do pre-packaged Coffee Cake and Carrot Cake!
AND, should they (Udi’s) ever do individually wrapped baked goods, they could also market them to hotels, to have available for continental breakfasts, and airports/airlines to have available for passengers! They keep great in a freezer, so waste is minimal. Just pull them out as needed!
Just a thought…
I like that they have more than 1 option available. I love Heidi’s idea of an Udi’s pre-packaged muffin on sale there!
Kim
Heidi, I think that is a great idea about Udi’s marketing individual items to hotels, cafes, etc…
I am one of the ones who love the current offerings at Starbucks. Of course i miss the many baked goods from the case, but I have trained myself to not even look in the case anymore. Kind of the same as when I go to the grocery store, I just won’t stop and look in the bakery section.
I did like orange cake that was originally offered by Starbucks, but then I become in love with the mango KIND bars, and now I love Lucy’s cookies. Lots of times when I go to Starbucks, I have my daughter in the car, so I will go through the drive-thru and just ask for the cookies, so I don’t even need to see the bakery case. And because of the fact that Starbucks carries GF options at all, I will go there before other places. I just hope they don’t decide to take this stuff away too.
I agree! Udi’s would be great and also French Meadow Bakery already sells individually wrapped gf brownies that are pretty good. My pizza joint tried to order them but the distributor never got them ordered in the right size. They sent FMB brownie bites instead, which are not well suited for a restaurant dessert. It would be a good idea if SB could just buy some locally made gf items when available. In Atlanta, Sally’s Bakery could supply chocolate chip cookies, for instance. When I was at SB in Decatur, I checked the exp. dates of the new items and they all had a very long shelf life. Therefore, it’s unlikely that SB would need to throw them out. I put SB right up there with Whole Foods – both are a little too big for their britches.
Hi Tiffany. I was impressed by how good the Lucy’s cookies were, actually. I always found that before I was GF, when I tried to buy one of the items in the case from Starbucks, that it tasted kind of stale to me anyways. They always seemed to look better than they tasted.
However, if they started carrying that gluten free carrot cake from Asheville or something, I might start going more often, just to get some of that!