Starbucks Announces "Dominant" Shift Toward A More Plant-Based Menu

It's about time...

Starbucks is jumping on board with the “trend” of plant-based eating. We won’t complain about this band-wagoning if it means more tasty vegan eats for all of us! 

More folks have been moving to a plant-based diet, and we're all for it.

And like many businesses globally, Starbucks has taken note of the growing demand for plant-based food and is implementing some major changes.

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

Starbucks added soy milk to their menus back in 1997, but soy-free friends were out of luck until 2015 when coconut milk was added.

Almond milk made its debut a year later. Starbucks still charges extra for non-dairy milk  (roughly $0.60 to $0.80 cents depending on where you live), nicknamed the “vegan tax” by some critics.

Oatmilk won’t be available nationwide until sometime this year. Still, something to look forward to! TBH we're still waiting for that vegan pumpkin spice latte #PSL.

Starbucks started offering a “plant-based” non-vegan breakfast sandwich at stores nationwide in June of 2020. They partnered with Impossible Foods to offer a sandwich made with plant-based Impossible patty at most of its US locations, a first for the chain. Good for them.

Because Starbucks sandwiches are NOT made-to-order, you can’t modify this sandwich to make it vegan… The animal products listed will have been in contact with the plant-based patty even if they are removed. A step in the right direction, at least.

Vegans rejoiced when last fall, Starbucks tested the “Plant Powered Breakfast Sandwich” at one location in Issaquah, WA. Of course, we made a special trip out there just to try this sandwich. It was dank. Even though it cost like $6.

The all-vegan breakfast sandwich is made from mung bean-based egg, plant-based sausage, dairy-free cheese, all piled on an English muffin.

The “meat” is the Impossible patty and the egg, though still unknown (who is she?), looks a lot like the folded version of JUST Egg’s mung bean-based egg patty.

Starbucks also tested out a few other vegan options including a Plant-Powered Potato Bake bite made with plant-based egg, Chickpea bites, AND vegan cashew milk-based cream cheese from Miyoko’s Creamery. Sign me up!

Unfortunately, the plant-based menu trial has since ended. There’s no official release date for a vegan breakfast sandwich nationwide but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. 

A spokesperson from Starbucks told VegNews that they’ve got some other vegan items in the works -- Pineapple Coconut Green Smoothie (made with coconut milk); Raspberry, Walnut & Oat Nut Square; and Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Yes, please! These are being tested in some Dallas area spots

According to The Beet, “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.”

Basically, Starbucks wants to cash in on the fact that more and more people are going vegan. If I sound bitter, it’s because companies like this never do the right thing because, well, it’s the right thing. They just want our hard-earned dollars.

BUT as a semi-basic b* I am okay with this because sometimes you just need a dairy-free latte and vegan breakfast sandwich on the go, ya know?

Check out more Seattle spots for vegan breakfast right here.

Will you be going to Starbucks once the vegan menu is established? Let me know in the comments!