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Starbucks has run low on baked goods, its CEO says — but denies a shortage of coffee or cups

Kevin Johnson Starbucks
Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson Starbucks

  • Starbucks isn't running out of coffee or cups, CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC.
  • But it was short on some baked goods, and faces "pressure" on breakfast-sandwich supply, he said.
  • The restaurant industry is being hit by rising ingredient costs amid supply chain problems.
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The CEO of Starbucks insisted the chain wasn't running low on coffee and cups – but said some baked goods were in short supply.

"We've had some shortages in the bakery case, that certainly is true," CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC's Jim Cramer Thursday. He didn't specify which baked goods had run low.

Starbucks also faced "pressure" on its supply of breakfast sandwiches, he said.

Starbucks had put orders for at least 25 items, including hazelnut syrup and chai tea bags, on "temporary hold" as of June 4 due to supply chain issues, according to an internal company update viewed by Insider's Mary Meisenzahl. Some baristas also told The Wall Street Journal that their stores were running out of cups, cake pops, and coffee syrups.

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But Starbucks has "no shortage of cups, no shortage of coffee," Johnson said. 

Read more: Restaurants are dreaming of ways to avoid crippling fees from DoorDash and Grubhub. A Southern California chain believes it has the answer — drone delivery.

Global supply-chain problems in the food industry, including a shipping crisis, a trucker shortage, and falling production, are pushing up the costs of some ingredients. Ribs, chicken wings, and fryer oil are all getting more expensive, for example.

Some restaurants are passing the higher costs of ingredients onto customers by increasing menu prices — Chipotle has raised prices by about 4%, and a New-Jersey pizzeria owner told Insider he bumped up the price of 10 chicken wings from $10.95 to $16.95.

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