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Starbucks Adds Dairy-Free Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Drink to Menu

Maxwell Rabb — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 22:07:03 +0000

Starbucks is trying its hardest to make your dairy-free coffee dreams come true. The international coffee chain has doubled down on its vegan development recently, integrating exciting new plant-based milk specialty drinks into its selection. Now, Starbucks is welcoming Springtime with the launch of the Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso drink. The new dairy-free drink will join the company’s growing list of dairy-free shaken espresso drinks and vegan-friendly beverages.

The coffee giant currently offers four types of dairy-free milk alternatives including coconut, soy, almond, and oat milk. Last spring, the company teamed up with Oatly to introduce oat milk to its stores worldwide and subsequently caused a dairy-free frenzy that drained all of the company’s oat milk supply within weeks. Since then, Starbucks has recovered its supply and continues to introduce brand new oat milk specialty drinks.

The new Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso drink will feature a signature Blonde espresso shot mixed into oat milk and infused with caramelized vanilla flavoring. This beverage is distinguished from other menu items because of its aerated texture, which is achieved by mixing the ingredients together using a handshaking technique similar to a martini.

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Alongside the new Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso, Starbucks’ menu also features two other flavors: The new Spring classic will join the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk and the Iced Chocolate Almondmilk on the permanent shaken espresso menu.

Starbucks’ Dominant Plant-Based Shift

Last year, Starbucks’ CEO Kevin Johnson announced that the company had realized the higher demand for plant-based and dairy-free products, promising that it intended to cater to this rising demand with a “dominant shift” toward plant-based menu items. Following this announcement, Starbucks has worked to develop its retail, beverage, and food categories companywide.

Most recently, Starbucks debuted a dairy-free version of one of its most iconic products: The store-bought bottled Frappuccinos. The company unveiled two new flavors including Dark Chocolate Brownie and Caramel Waffle Cookie. The two flavors will be exclusive to the Oatmilk variety, marking the first time the company focused on ready-to-go vegan items.

Overall, the plant-based beverage market is increasing at an unprecedented growth rate of 14.3 percent, expected to reach $66.5 billion by 2028. Starbucks’ new product model aims to capitalize on the growing industry, developing plant-based beverages with all four alternative milk offerings.

Starbucks has faced backlash for maintaining its dairy-free milk surcharge. Worldwide, the coffee giant continues to charge customers extra for substituting dairy milk for the four vegan milks on the menu. Late last year, the plant-based activism group Switch4Good released a prank press release that fooled news outlets, announcing Starbucks had reversed the surcharge so that customers didn’t have to pay extra for dairy milk. Although the press release was debunked, Starbucks almost immediately announced that it would remove the plant-based surcharges from 1,020 locations in the UK, making its plant-based milk options more accessible than ever before, although the charge still remains in the US.

Alongside its strides in dairy-free beverage offerings, Starbucks is also working to expand its plant-based food category. The company recently teamed up with OmniFoods to launch vegan crab cakes at 170 Hong Kong locations, marking the first time the coffee chain had offered seafood. The company has also tested vegan food items within the United States, including Miyoko’s vegan cream cheese.

Even more impressively, Starbucks launched a Greener Stores initiative that tested out a 50 percent vegan menu. The campaign aims to open 10,000 environmentally friendly stores by 2025. While many vegan food options have yet to be added permanently to menus, Starbucks’ abundant tests signify a change coming in the near future.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

1. Burger King

Burger King

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

2. White Castle

Taco Bell

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

Taco Bell

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

4. Carl’s Jr.

Taco Bell

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

Taco Bell

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

6. Starbucks

Starbucks

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

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Starbucks Releases Dairy-Free Bottled Frappuccinos Made with Oat Milk

Maxwell Rabb — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 21:33:34 +0000

Starbucks revolutionized the coffee world when it brought its signature beverages and specialty drinks to customers worldwide, but when it comes to plant-based options, the company is playing catch up. The international coffee company recently readjusted its product platform, putting plant-based and dairy-free menu development at the forefront. Now, Starbucks has announced that it is launching its first dairy-free bottled Frappuccinos, made with oat milk.

While the in-store Frappuccinos a fan-favorites for loyal Starbucks’ clientele, the bottled variation is equally as recognizable. This new recipe will mark the first time that the company has focused on making its ready-to-go category vegan. The brand new Starbucks Frappuccino with Oatmilk products will feature two distinct flavors: Dark Chocolate Brownie and Caramel Waffle Cookie. The two flavors will be exclusive to the Oatmilk variety.

“Starbucks has been a leader in the ready-to-drink coffee category since 1994 and we continue to focus on beverage innovation with the highest quality coffee and ingredients,” Vice President of Channel Development Americas at Starbucks Chanda Beppu said in a statement. “This year, we’re excited to provide customers with their favorite ready-to-drink Starbucks beverages in new flavors and formats, like Starbucks Cold & Crafted on Tap and the new Starbucks Frappuccino with Oatmilk.”

Alongside the oat milk Frappuccinos, Starbucks unveiled a bottled cold brew made with oat milk. The Starbucks Multi-serve Cold Brew will be available in a Dark Chocolate flavor. The new oat milk drinks will be available in retailers, grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations throughout this next year, and mark a greater beverage release from Starbucks. The company announced that it will be entering the energy drink category, launching Starbucks’ BAYA energy, new energy drinks which contain natural energy and caffeine from coffee fruit, developed to boost nutrients and antioxidants.

“We’re thrilled to introduce Starbucks BAYA Energy to our customers, providing them with a refreshing, fruit-flavored boost of feel-good energy, in a way only Starbucks can deliver,” Beppu said. “Over the years, we’ve continued to identify new and exciting ways to expand our ready-to-drink portfolio and saw an opportunity to complement our existing coffee beverage lineup with Starbucks BAYA Energy, the brand’s first beverage to launch in the energy category.

Starbucks Commits to Plant-Based

Although Starbucks has been slower to develop items in plant-based categories, the company consistently proves that it aims to cater to its plant-based and dairy-free customers. Early last year, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson declared that the company will experience a dominant shift to plant-based products as consumers’ interest leans towards more sustainable and healthier options.

While the company offers four different kinds of plant-based milk and several dairy-free specialty drinks, customers still pay a surcharge for dairy-free milk at most locations. A fake press release from the non-profit Switch4Good claimed that Starbucks planned to reverse the surcharge. Following the company’s official statement debunking the false press release, Starbucks announced that it would remove the dairy-free milk surcharge at 1,000 locations as a trial period.

Starbucks customers want oat milk, and despite the surcharge, have purchased a record amount. In April of 2021, the coffee company faced an oat milk shortage after a matter of weeks. The oat milk popularity is helping the company reach its sustainability goals, hoping to cut down carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030. Oat milk production produces 80 percent less greenhouse gas emissions and uses 60 percent less energy than cow milk production.

While the company introduces a new plant-based menu and retail items, it is also working to open its Greener Stores concept. The Greener Stores concept boasts a menu that is 50 percent plant-based items, coinciding with new restaurant sustainability policies such as zero-waste initiatives and recyclable materials. The company hopes to open 10,000 locations by 2025.

For more on eating and drinking plant-based at Starbucks, visit our guide to everything vegan at the coffee shop.

1. Burger King

Burger King

2. White Castle

Taco Bell

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

Taco Bell

4. Carl’s Jr.

Taco Bell

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

Taco Bell

6. Starbucks

Starbucks

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Starbucks Removes Dairy-Free Milk Surcharge at 1,000 Locations

Maxwell Rabb — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 19:33:04 +0000

Starbucks just announced that it will finally remove the upcharge for its vegan milk substitutes at locations across the United Kingdom beginning January 5. The decision closely follows the press release prank conducted by Switch4Good that told news outlets everywhere that the company decided to move the upcharge to dairy-based milk instead. Now, the company is actually dropping the plant-based milk charge from 1,020 locations, making its plant-based milk options more accessible to customers within the UK.

The company currently offers five dairy-free milk options including oat, soy, coconut, almond, and the exclusive Starbucks Original Nut Blend – plant-based milk containing light rice milk, cashews, and hazelnuts with added vitamins B12, B2, D2, and E. While only in the UK, the decision to drop the vegan milk surcharge is a monumental move for the company. Following years of petitions and calls to action, Starbucks will finally offer plant-based beverages with no extra cost.

“With customization at Starbucks core, this latest menu change will provide increased personalization options and make it even easier for customers to choose whichever dairy alternative or milk they prefer, all year round,” the company said in a press release.

Alongside its decision to drop the surcharge, Starbucks will be bulking up its vegan winter menu across the UK. The company announced that it will be adding three fresh oat milk lattes including Honey & Hazelnut (Not Vegan), Dark Cacoa & Orange, and Strawberry & Vanilla. The new lattes will blend together Oatly’s oat milk and the Starbucks’ signature Blonde Roast Expresso. The new selection will fall under the company’s “Oat Platform” meant to promote and expand the oat milk beverage section.

“The platform will see the addition of new dairy alternative beverages for future seasons as part of our ongoing work to expand our plant-based menu,” Starbucks said in a statement.

While Starbucks has not clarified any direct inspiration, the company’s announcement occurs soon after Switch4Good’s campaign that called out the brand’s plant-based surcharge. The campaign – created by former Olympian Dotsie Bausch’s Switch4Good and the activist duo The Yes Men – set out to hold Starbucks accountable for its problematic upcharge. The fake press release contained an explanation that Starbuck would drop the upcharge to stop contributing to dietary racism as heavy percentages of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities cannot consume lactose.

Recently, several organizations and activists have placed diet at the forefront of conversations discussing racism, institutional discrimination, and nutritional deficits. For years, Starbucks has felt pressure from activists claiming the upcharge is a barrier to sustainable and nutritional progress.

Recently, documentarians Keegan Kuhn and John Lewis premiered their new film, They’re Trying to Kill Us, which explored the deep connection between diet and racial discrimination. The film examines how racism manipulates the food industries across the United States to create nutritional faults in communities of color. With the help of Billie Eilish and Chris Paul, the documentary places pressure on food industries and companies to address discrimination nationwide.

“The film opened my eyes to the larger underlying issue and disparities in the food system, and most people don’t realize it has been happening for decades,” Paul said. “The conversations and dialogue are both thought-provoking and education in so many areas.”

Starbucks’ decision to change the milk upcharge also coincides with the rising demand for dairy-free milk options. The company has experienced an uptick in sales over recent years, minimizing the need for the marginal upcharge as the dairy-free milk industry becomes larger, meeting price parity with the dairy-based milk market. The plant-based dairy industry is predicted to reach $32 billion by 2031, according to Fact.MR. Starbucks will likely benefit from making its plant-based milk options more accessible to a rapidly growing vegan and health-conscious consumer base.

Beyond the plant-based milk selection, Starbucks is also working on its vegan food selection. The company has spent recent years developing a variety of plant-based food options, and now it will begin its expansion in the UK. The company will release the Tu’NAH Sandwich – a vegan tuna sandwich made from The Vegetarian Butcher’s plant-based tuna, complete with red onion, arugula, cucumber, and vegan mayo. For baked goods, Starbucks also announced three plant-based treats including the Carrot Cake, Chocolate & Caramel Muffin, and Pecan & Caramel Brownie.

The new winter menu will accompany recent menu development such as the signature vegan whipped cream and the company’s sandwiches made with Beyond Meat. For now, the company has only revealed minimal US-based vegan changes, however, the company’s new measures give consumers a reason to anticipate more plant-based Starbucks worldwide.

1. Burger King

Burger King

2. White Castle

Taco Bell

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

Taco Bell

4. Carl’s Jr.

Taco Bell

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

Taco Bell

6. Starbucks

Starbucks

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I Made Starbucks’ Iconic Holiday Drinks Dairy-Free: Here’s What I Thought

Hailey Welch — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 13:57:55 +0000

Nothing says the holidays are here like the bright red, festively designed Starbucks cups filled to the foamy brim with one of their holiday drinks like a Sugar Cookie Latte with oat milk or their Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino – two flavors I now know well.

Yesterday, I had the chance to taste-test four of Starbucks’ specialty holiday drinks – made with oat milk – at the store on 14th Street and Ocean Drive in Miami. Here’s what I thought about each, ordered in their iced-coffee versions since it was well into the mid-70s by the time I got there. Watch the video below for the full review and ratings out of five.

I Taste Tested Starbucks 4 Holiday Drinks with Dairy-Free Milk

This week is different from my normal routine: I’m in Miami Beach for a few days, working remotely in the sunshine with palm trees overhead, the opposite of what I was doing a few days ago in freezing New York. Truthfully as sunny as Miami is, I felt more of a holiday spirit when bundling up in the Big Apple.

Not that there’s no festive cheer in the warmer weather, but there is something special and nostalgic to me about being in a cold climate during the holidays, maybe because I’m from New England. However, I found the perfect solution to help ring in the holiday cheer and the month of December in Florida. Drum roll, please…Starbucks holiday drinks are what felt like my home away from home.

That’s one reason I wanted to taste test the new “red cup” holiday drinks at Starbucks. The other was to see if they would “hold up” in taste to being made with vegan or plant-based ingredients like non-dairy milk. We chose oat milk but they offer almond milk as well, and soy milk if you prefer. Oat milk is my choice because it tastes the most like the real thing. Still, I wondered: Would the foam properly aerate?

Starbucks in Miami Beach has a view of palm trees

This Starbucks shop at Ocean Drive is much different from the one I go to in New York where it’s crowded, has long lines, and there’s always a rush to get in and out. This Starbucks was relaxed and people were sitting outside at tables, enjoying their drinks in the sunshine filtering through the palm fronds on the north edge of beautiful Lummus Park. To the East, visible from the terrace was the blue expanse of ocean, while to the West was the row of art deco hotels, starting with the chic and welcoming Betsy.

I arrived at the Starbucks in style, with my co-workers Lucy Danziger and Caitlin Muccerino, we all happened to be in Miami during the same time. Lucy ordered the drinks at the counter and explained to the barista that we wanted to make them all dairy-free with oat milk, and he said, “No problemo. Just tag us on your Instagram, he asked. We have our own account!”

The choices were almost endless since Starbucks offers soy, almond, oat, and coconut milk for anyone who avoids dairy, like us. Note that most of the holiday drinks can be made plant-based with the exception of the white chocolate one, so we passed up on that flavor and ordered the Caramel Creme Brulee, the Praline Chestnut, the Mocha Peppermint Frappuccino, and the super-popular Sugar Cookie Latte, all made with oat milk.

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Starbucks Holiday Drinks Made Plant-Based: A First-Person Review

Out of the three of us, I was the designated taste-tester, and trust me, I was thrilled. Caitlin was part of the production (making sure we had them all straight) and Lucy acted as director and videographer, as you can see in the reflection of my glasses.

The first drink I tried was the Caramel Creme Brulee

The first sip was a shock in the system, a sugar shock. This drink is very, very sweet. The taste of creme brulee was much richer and powerful than the caramel taste, something I was happy about since creme brulee was usually my go-to dessert back before I went vegan. The duo of caramel and creme brulee makes a tasty pairing.

The second drink I had was the Chestnut Praline

This one was also delicious, but not as sweet as the first one, which I appreciated. The aftertaste has hints of chestnut so it’s not like you’re drinking a chestnut smoothie. The drink is more infused with chestnut so it’s not overpowering. But if you like chestnut you’ll love it.

The third drink was the Sugar Cookie Latte

This one tasted like pure sugar – but after all, isn’t it supposed to? It is as sweet as can be and tastes just like a sugar cookie.

Last but not least was the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino

This is like drinking an ice cream sundae. This isn’t a coffee drink per se, but a dessert. This drink was over-the-top delicious. And if you’re a peppermint fan you won’t be able to drink just a few sips. You’ll want the whole thing! It had an all-natural light taste of peppermint and a rich taste from the chocolate and the mocha. This one was the winner.

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Starbucks is Testing a Greener Menu With Over 50 Percent Plant-Based Items

Maxwell Rabb — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 15:34:00 +0000

Starbucks is set to open a new store that boasts a menu with over 50 percent plant-based items, additionally implementing several sustainability measures including repurposed materials and zero-waste initiatives. As part of its “Greener Stores” concept, the new Shanghai store will be the company’s first international iteration, promoting both sustainability and plant-based offerings.

The Greener Stores concept – Starbucks’ sustainability campaign that aims to open 10,000 environmentally conscious stores by 2025 – is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and experimenting with sustainable food and beverage options. Launched in 2017 alongside the World Wildlife Fund, the program intends to focus on promoting ethically sourced menus and prioritizing sustainable practice.

Currently, the international coffee giant operates approximately 2,300 Greener Store locations in the United States and Canada, making the Shanghai location the first location outside of North America. The company announced that the Greener Stores initiative works under the company’s greater pledge to push sustainable innovations throughout the entire company.

“Greener Stores is not meant to be a competitive tool,” Senior Vice President of Store Development for Starbucks Andy Adams said in an interview. “In the same way that us working with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) helped us understand how to build in a sustainable way over the last 16 years, our approach to Greener Stores is meant to be even better suited to driving sustainable issues into the practice of operating retail.”

The new location also showcases the company’s plant-based development, introducing 15 new plant-based items that include salads, sandwiches, cakes, and baked goods. Unlike any other location, Starbucks also announced that the Shanghai store will use oat milk as the default in the majority of its beverages. The shift marks the first time the company positioned a dairy alternative as the default, especially significant because most locations that feature oat milk still add a surcharge for plant-based milk options. Using oat milk, Starbuck will also debut two new dairy-free drinks: The Salted Caramel Flat White and the Salted Caramel Breve.

The Greener Stores concept falls under Starbucks’ mission to cut its carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030. The company announced that it would work to reduce its water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions companywide in an attempt to enhance its new planet-positive practices. CEO Kevin Johnson also recognized a rising demand for sustainable and plant-based options in consumers worldwide, announcing that the company would strive to meet this changing demand.

“If I were to say what is probably the most dominant shift in consumer behavior, [it] is this whole shift to plant-based [products],” Johnson said. “And that is a shift both in beverage and in food.”

The plant-based reveal in Shanghai signifies that the company is beginning to implement its vegan development worldwide. Adams announced that Starbucks will not be slowing down its Greener Stores campaign, pushing to open 7,700 more stores by 2025. He stated that “not only are we moving faster with the 2,300 stores, we now have a sustainable program that doesn’t assume we’re doing everything right today just because we did 10 years ago.”

The company plans to expand its Greener Stores concept to Japan, the United Kingdom, and Chile following the Shanghai opening. Earlier this week, Starbucks implemented plant-based offerings across 130 Chile locations. The company introduced a vegan beef sandwich using vegan beef and vegan mayo from The Not Company (NotCo) on the permanent menus across Chile. The introduction comes ahead of the eventual Greener Stores expansion into the country.

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Starbucks Announces a “Dominant Shift” Towards Plant-Based Menu Items

Maxwell Rabb — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 19:37:57 +0000

Starbucks is widening the scope of its plant-based options, announcing that the company plans to innovate its food and drink menu to further capitalize on the changing consumer trends towards meatless and dairy-free diets. The coffee chain took massive steps to accommodate plant-based eaters over the last year, but the company plans to renew and revamp these promises. During an investor earnings call this week, company executives brewed a slew of ideas that will soon come to fruition in locations nationwide. Starbucks’ CEO Kevin Johnson declared that the company has noticed the changing trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, and plans to listen to those consumer desires.

Starbucks Has Been Shifting to Plant-Based

Starbucks took its first plunge into plant-based options in 2016 when the company added almond milk to its menus. This move made it easy for coffee drinkers nationwide to order dairy-free specialty drinks, allowing Starbucks to appeal to consumers who cut milk from their diets. After the success of this outreach, the company experimented by including oat milk at 1,300 of its midwest locations, and customers loved it. The regional oat milk trial ended in popular success and soon all plant-based coffee drinkers can celebrate with oat milk lattes across all Starbucks locations.

Since the beginning of the initial stay-at-home orders, Starbucks says consumers, who were less likely to be commuting or on a lunch break in chilly weather, became less likely to buy a singular hot drink and moved towards cold drinks and bulkier orders. Starbucks shifted its concentration onto plant-based items and cold beverages to make up for the losses seen by the pandemic. Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Rosalind Brewer explained, “That’s why we’re seeing this improved food attach [purchases of food attached to beverages] and so we feel confident that those kinds of innovations are going to keep that ticket higher than what we’ve seen in the past.”

The company did not stop at plant-based lattes and cappuccinos, and over the past year, Starbucks has bulked its menu with plant-based foods. The Impossible Breakfast Sandwich hit nationwide menus in June, now an acting competitor to Dunkin’ Donut’s Beyond Breakfast Sandwich. Although the sandwich cannot be made vegan, its success with customers inspired the company to experiment further at a singular location in Issaquah, Washington.

Starbucks Looks to Please Vegan Customers With New Options

The Issaquah location, based right outside of Seattle, stacked its menu with fresh vegan breakfast options to test the limits of a new menu. The menu includes an all-vegan Plant-Powered Breakfast Sandwich, which is made with a mung bean-based egg, a plant-based sausage, dairy-free cheese, served on an English Muffin. Starbucks jumped into deeper territory with a quiche alternative Plant-Powered Potato Bake bite made with the plant-based egg. The store also introduced Chickpea bites and vegan cashew milk-based cream cheese sourced from Miyoko’s Creamery.

“We use that [store] as sort of a test area when we innovate, create things here in our support center,” CEO Johnson said. “We test in that store. So, if I think about both beverage and food, the number one trend I would high there are just the consumer shift and consumer preferences around plant-based.”

Starbuck is pivoting its business model to meet plant-based demands, fueling hope that these experiments will prove popular enough to make their way to nationwide locations. In the near future, we hope customers won’t have to give up grabbing a coffee and breakfast sandwich from Starbucks if they want to switch up a plant-based diet.

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Starbucks Adds First Plant-Based Breakfast Sandwich with Impossible Foods

Hailey Welch — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 23:30:54 +0000

This summer, Starbucks is checking off a couple of crucial boxes on their list of plant-based to-do’s: In early June the chain released a new vegan pink drink, and now they’re launching the meatless breakfast sandwich they promised to deliver.

Starbucks just introduced the new Impossible Breakfast Sandwich, which comes complete with an Impossible plant-based sausage patty, aged cheddar cheese, and a cage-free fried egg on artisanal ciabatta bread. For plant-forward eaters or those striving to eat less meat, Starbucks earns 5 gold stars, but vegans may ask “where is the non-dairy cheese and Just Egg?” Luckily, you can ask the barista to make the sandwich without the egg and cheese if you need some plant-based protein in a pinch.

The new Impossible Breakfast Sandwich was part of Starbuck’s commitment offering more menu items that are environmentally sustainable. “We are thrilled to expand our plant-based menu into food with this new breakfast sandwich,” says Starbucks chief sustainability officer, Michael Kobori. The sandwich is priced at $4.95 to $5.25 depending on the retailer’s location and is available at 15,000 U.S. locations.

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Beyond Meat vs. Impossible Foods, who wins?

But wait…what happened to the Starbucks partnership with Beyond Meat? The rivalry continues. Impossible Food’s biggest competitor, Beyond Meat, has partnerships with Starbucks in two different markets, China and Canada, and their stock increased incredibly when menu items featuring the brand’s products were introduced in those countries. Starbucks shocked many with the decision to supply faux meat from Impossible Foods in the US.

After the news caught consumer’s attention, a spokeswoman said, “Starbucks works with a variety of suppliers around the globe,” defending the new Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

Impossible Foods is on the rise. After Burger King added the popular Impossible Whopper, the company started selling products in grocery stores across the U.S and is testing direct-to-consumer sales, according to Bloomberg News.

During the COVID-19 crisis, sales of meatless meat have risen 35% as consumers recognize the harm of eating animal products as meat processing plants around the country report high numbers of employees infected with the virus. It’s clear that shoppers are reaching more and more for vegan protein options, as tofu sales spiked by 66 percent last week.

Nutrition Information for the Starbucks Impossible Plant-Based Sandwich

Serving Size 150 g, Calories 430, Calories from Fat 210

Nutritionals:

Total Fat 23 g 29%
Saturated Fat 8 g 40%
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 190 mg 63%
Sodium 830 mg 36%
Total Carbohydrates 36 g 13%
Dietary Fiber 3 g 11%
Sugars 4 g
Protein 22 g 44%

The percentage is based on the daily value.

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Starbuck CEO Agrees Adding More Plant-Based Milks Will Help Cut Carbon Footprint

David Shteyman — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 16:39:24 +0000

Starbucks is not ditching dairy, as some of the confusing recent headlines might have you believe. In fact, the coffee giant is not even agreeing to get rid of the surcharge on plant-based milk. What is happening, though is that the CEO has announced a plan to modernize production and food delivery systems (like more reusable containers) to lower the chain’ carbon footprint.

The company’s CEO, Kevin Johnson, was interviewed recently and articulated a five-point plan to make Starbucks more sustainable by 2030. Still, if all he did was eliminate the upcharge on soy, oat, or almond milk (which is about an 80-cent upcharge to add non-dairy milk to your drink), that would be a good first step.

Johnson says he is prioritizing plant-based milk as part of a strategy to become “resource positive” by 2030, and acknowledged that the company needs to make major changes to become more sustainable over the next ten years.

The current report card is not so pretty: In 2018 Starbucks emitted 16 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, used 1 billion cubic meters of water, and dumped 868 metric kilotons of coffee cups and other waste, according to an audit conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Quantis.

Dairy products were the worst offenders when looking at the company’s oversized carbon footprint. With more than 31,000 outlets in 80 global markets, Starbucks is looking for ways to do better.

The company released a statement stating that by 2030, it aims to reduce 50 percent of its “current carbon emissions, water withdrawal and waste sent to landfill” and become “resource positive”—meaning it will save more carbon than it spends, by cutting out waste and water usage.

The 5 strategies Starbucks will use to be more climate-conscious:

Add more plant-based items to the menu, including vegan milk options (and vegan breakfast sausage was just announced, too)
Move toward reusable packaging
Invest in agricultural practices that conserve natural resources
Reduce waste through more effective food and material processes
Launch “eco-friendly” shops, including more modern manufacturing and delivery methods
“We know this journey will be challenging,” Johnson said in a recent interview. “We know we can’t do this alone, and we know this will require others to join us.”

First on the list: Adding more Plant-based milk to the menu

In an interview with Bloomberg, the CEO acknowledged the negative impact of dairy milk on its carbon footprint, adding: “Alternative milks will be a big part of the solution.”

he CEO acknowledged the negative impact of dairy products on its carbon footprint, adding: “Alternative milks will be a big part of the solution.”

“The consumer-demand curve is already shifting,” Johnson said, with nearly 20% of Starbucks customers already opting for non-dairy milk. Starbucks just launched a partnership with Oatly oat milk in the midwest. That move is in reaction to more of the chain’s customers choosing “milk made from almond, coconuts, soy or oats.”

He also said Starbucks would reduce the surcharge for vegan milk, which has been a major complaint among consumers and activists. The chain has been repeatedly boycotted over the upcharge. Animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) says simply lowering surcharges for vegan milk are not enough, considering Starbucks is “calling on its customers to choose vegan milk while continuing to charge extra for vegan milk (while allowing additions of dairy milk for free).”

If Starbucks “really wanted to join the fight against the climate crisis,” PETA pointed out, it would end the upcharge for eco-friendly vegan milk entirely. “Continuing to charge more for vegan milk while admitting that it’s the key to reducing Starbucks’ massive carbon footprint is irresponsible and unethical,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.

The post Starbuck CEO Agrees Adding More Plant-Based Milks Will Help Cut Carbon Footprint appeared first on The Beet.

Your Guide to Vegan and Plant-Based Options at Starbucks

Caitlin Mucerino — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 22:11:12 +0000

You’re rushing to work and it hits you: You’ve skipped breakfast and your morning is now time-crunched with barely enough minutes to get something healthy before your first meeting. Plus you need caffeine, stat. Rather than start the day off hangry and under-caffeinated, you pop into Starbucks and see what you can grab that does not contain dairy or animal products. And because you went plant-based or vegan to be healthy, the higher bar is to find something that is remotely healthy, other than a packet of almonds. The choices aren’t overwhelming but you’ll definitely have some options that can quiet your hunger when you need a quick bite on-the-go.

Drinks That Deliver the Caffeine But Leave Out the Dairy

First, let’s tackle the vegan drink options. At Starbucks, you don’t have to settle for a black coffee if you’re staying away from dairy. Instead, you have a few options of plant-based milks: Just ask for your favorite drink without the dairy and add soy, almond or coconut milk in your coffee for some creaminess. If you’re just getting drip coffee, you have to ask for the almond and coconut milk when you order, and it’s an additional 60 cents, but the soy is free and on the same counter as your skim and low-fat options. For all the tea drinkers out there, the Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte with almond milk is a good pick-me-up.

In the cold case, those Evolution Fresh green juices are vegan (Starbucks actually bought the company back in 2011) and we love that they’re a solid non-GMO, organic, healthy, vegan option found at most—if not all—stores.

As of now, the barista-made strawberry and banana smoothies come with plant protein but simply ask them to leave out the milk or Greek yogurt to make ’em vegan. The more complicated orders require you to know that you have a few traps to avoid (like honey or java chips, which aren’t vegan). For a complete list of what to order and what to ask the barista to hold, read this comprehensive guide that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) published last March. Since then, Starbucks came out with plant protein for the smoothies so that is a step in the right direction.

It goes without saying that dairy-based whipped cream should get left off the fancy drinks. Some seasonal drinks are good options, like the Chestnut Praline Latte (with a non-dairy milk). For a list of which of the syrups are vegan (the clear ones) and which are not, like the caramel drizzle, see this excellent piece from UrbanTasteBud, but if in doubt, leave it out.

Quick tip about foaming and plant-based milk choices. Don’t try to make a latte with coconut milk since it won’t foam up nicely. Until Starbucks embraces the oat milk trend, choose soy!

Breakfast at Starbucks: Hold the Meat, Eggs, and Cheese, Plz

Starbucks offers a large variety of breakfast sandwiches, but they all contain either eggs or meat or cheese…or all three. Your best bet? The humble oatmeal—we heart the version with blueberries, since you get an extra kick of antioxidants with your cereal. Ask them to make it with either water or almond milk, since you can get the barista to heat it up for you when you order.

Another option: all bagels sold at Starbucks are vegan, other than the everything bagel which is topped with asiago cheese. As for spreads, ask if they have avocado spread which may be puréed but it’s pure Haas avocado (yep, you can DIY your own avocado toast). Otherwise spread it with almond butter, hazelnut butter or bring your own Tofutti or Violife non-dairy cream cheese for a full meal.

Don’t Just Reach for the Almonds—Ask for Plant-Based Bowls

We love a good packet of almonds as much as the next person, but there are times when you need a little something extra. Select locations have introduced an entirely plant-based bowl option, such as the Vegan Superberry Açaí Bowl, which is pureed fruit topped with granola, coconut and pepitas. Similarly, the Strawberry & Toasted Almonds Overnight Grains are made with coconut milk and are completely plant-based.

Hacks to Vegan-ize Non-Plant-Based Options

If you’re not concerned with the idea of buying boxes with dairy and discarding it then the Protein Box and PB&J Box are good choices, and you can make them fully plant-based once you deconstruct them and remove the cheese; then you’re left with apples, cucumbers, almonds and multigrain crackers. Take the chocolate-covered raisins and Greek yogurt ranch dip out of the PB&J Box, and you’re left with the sandwich, carrots, cucumbers and apple slices, which almost amounts to a meal.

Bottom Line: Overall, we would head into Starbucks when really in need but definitely wouldn’t run there as a first option. If we were in the UK, that statement wouldn’t be true. Starbucks in the UK has enough plant-based options to provide a full course meal. There you can find everything from vegan sandwiches and wraps to Vegan Mac and Cheese. (#jealous.) Here, we still have a ways to go. Starbucks would not get an A in vegan options, but it wouldn’t get a failing grade either—more like a C+ from us.

Which grade would you give Starbucks’ vegan options? Send in your comments and suggestions for how to eat vegan on-the-go below!

The post Your Guide to Vegan and Plant-Based Options at Starbucks appeared first on The Beet.