News: Starbucks Buys Bakery Chain for Better Baked Goods

Starbucks recently bought San Francisco-based La Boulange bakery, and in doing so, hopes to add a little bit of the French bakery vibe to the Starbucks brand and improve the food component of their stores. The price paid? An even $100 million dollars.

The plan is to use the La Boulange bakery brand for baked goods in Starbucks' U.S. company-owned stores on the way to making La Boulange into a nationwide brand.

What does that mean for you, the Starbucks customer? Eventually, as they roll out new bakery items using La Boulange know-how and recipes, it should mean tastier baked goods, maybe some breads, and some new sandwiches.

Long term, you might see Starbucks locations with bakery ovens mirroring the recent McDonald's bakery test. I'm hoping they do some bakery fresh croissants myself!