After initially announcing the expansion of the Starbucks non-dairy-based beverage lineup in last year with the almond milk honey flat white, coconut milk latte, and oat milk honey latte making it onto select café menus in Jan. 2020, Starbucks has announced the release of Oatly oat milk beverages nationwide, starting March 2.
The national release coincides with the announcement of Starbucks’ spring menu which includes multiple plant-based food and beverage options, including an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso (made with Oatly oat milk, blonde espresso, cinnamon and brown sugar), and iced chocolate almond milk shaken espresso (made with almond milk, blonde espresso, cocoa and malt). Last year’s honey oat milk latte will also join the Starbucks lineup permanently.
“We’re pleased to bring Oatly oat milk to Starbucks stores nationwide in the U.S., something our customers have asked for as they increasingly seek a variety of plant-based choices,” Luigi Bonini, senior vice president of global product innovation at Starbucks, said in a statement. “When selecting an oat milk, we looked for a high-quality ingredient that is not only delicious, but also complements our coffees and inspires new handcrafted beverages […] opening up new possibilities for beverage innovation at Starbucks.”
This new lineup is part of Starbucks’ latest effort to appeal to vegans and flexitarians. The company began testing out oat milk in 2019 but did not announce the widespread test of the new beverage option until last year.
Starbucks first hinted that they would be expanding upon their plant-based milk platform in December at the company’s annual investor day event, when they said that oat milk would be making its debut this spring, and joining other plant-based beverages already on the menu, like the coconut milk Cascara Latte and iced pineapple matcha drink, and other beverages made with plant-based milk foams released early in 2020.
Other new spring menu items that will appeal to vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians alike include the fully-plant-based chickpea bites and avocado protein box, also coming to Starbucks menus this March.
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