Starbucks are planting their feet firmly in the vegan market with a “dominant shift” to plant-based food
Although plant-based items are nothing new on their menu, Starbucks have taken a big step forward in the vegan market by opening a location in Seattle with a 100% plant-based menu.
The test store is based in Issaquah, right outside Seattle, and features a Plant-Powered Breakfast Sandwich, a Plant-Powered Potato Bake bite and Chickpea bites, amongst other things.
They’re playing catch-up, with Dunkin’ up ahead of them
They’ve been a little bit behind with Dunkin’, their biggest rival in the US beating them to it by introducing a plant-based breakfast sandwich and also oat milk drinks.
Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks said, “The No. 1 trend that I would highlight here is just the consumer shift and consumer preferences around plant-based.”
Costa Coffee in the UK are also firmly rooted in the vegan movement.
We’ll be seeing more vegan food as well, not just drinks
And it’s not just the drinks. He also said, “You’re seeing more and more plant-based proteins in our food menu.”
“Probably the most dominant shift in consumer behavior is this whole shift to plant-based, and that is a shift both in beverage and food.”
Don’t expect it to be cheap though
Starbucks’ CFO Patrick Grismer said that profitability is “a little bit of a push”.
“A lot of it will depend on how consumers increasingly migrate to those alternative milks, not just in our business, but broadly in a way that supports increased production”. This could reduce costs, however he continued on to say that “our goal is to maintain, if not expand, our margins over time.”
Information from, and credit to:
https://thebeet.com/starbucks-announces-a-dominant-shift-towards-plant-based-menu-items/
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/starbucks-making-big-bet-plants
