Starbucks Now Is Selling Cream Cheese Filled Bagel Balls

A few days after beginning to test brunch menus, Starbucks has added another innovation to its menu; bagel balls. As a part of a deal with Bantam Bagels, which produce the cheese stuffed bagel balls, Starbucks will be selling them in over 7000 outlets across the US.

The Bantam Bagel Balls Story

Bantam Bagel balls were born in 2012, when Nick Oleksak had a dream about bagels shaped like donut holes and filled with cream cheese. On waking up and after extensive research, he and his wife, Elyse began Bantam Bagels.

Bantam Bagels sells stuffed bagels in a variety of flavours including Strawberry delight (a plain bagel stuffed with strawberry cream cheese) and the Hot Pretzel (a pretzel salt bagel stuffed with cheddar Dijon cream cheese).

After being embraced by New Yorkers, appearing on a reality TV show and getting an investment from Lori Greiner, the couple have now signed on with Starbucks, which will put their products in over 7000 stores.

The Collaboration

“We always said, ‘Wouldn’t these be a perfect fit for Starbucks?'” Elyse Oleksak, co-founder of Bantam Bagels, told CNBC. “The Starbucks customer looks for elevated versions of iconic food and they’re always on the go.”

Starbucks customers can enjoy three varieties of bagel balls at stores; The Classic, which stuffs whipped cream cheese in a plain bagel, Everybody’s Favourite, which is an everything bagel stuffed with veggie cream cheese and French Toast, which is a cinnamon nutmeg egg bagel stuffed with maple butter cream cheese.

At Starbucks, two bagels will be for $2.95 and six for $7.98.

The Oleksaks have declined to comment on how much the deal was struck for.