Starbucks will continue charging customers extra for plant-based milk despite a fake press release put out by an unknown organization claiming to be Starbucks, the company confirmed.
The press release, which was sent out to reporters on Thursday, claimed the chain was ending the practice to fight “dietary racism.”
A TikTok saying they will be dropping the $0.70 up charge also went totally viral resulting in high hopes for plant based milk lovers. We now know however, that these claims were all fake. Random right?
“This announcement is false and this website is not associated with Starbucks,” the company confirmed.
Starbucks added oat milk in March 2021, alongside almond milk added in 2016 and coconut milk in 2015. The chain has had plant-based milk on the menu since 2004, with the addition of soy milk.
Plant-based milk will continue to come with a 70 cent up charge on any drinks they are added to. When oat milk was first added to menus, it was so popular that many stores reported they were out of oat milk, which several workers told Insider was at least in part due to the popularity of the Ice Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.
In 2020, former COO Roz Brewer said “While there’s no single factor in pricing decisions we expect costs to come down as the supply chain for plant-based options matures,” in responses to questions about eliminating fees (Insider).
What are your thoughts on all of this? As someone who personally avoids dairy milk at all costs, I would really appreciate them getting rid of the extra charge for plant based milks that I always get.
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-Kate