Veganuary 2023 is already shaping up to be the best yet, and some of the world’s biggest restaurant chains are getting in on the action again this year. From January 5, coffeehouse giant Starbucks will expand its UK menu with mouth-watering vegan options just in time for the month-long challenge to ditch animal products.
First, the chain is adding a new drink to the menu with the Caramelised Macadamia Oat Latte. In the savory department, Starbucks worked with The Vegetarian Butcher, which is also a Burger King supplier, to develop vegan beef for its new No’Beef and Red Onion Focaccia sandwich on its menu.
For the morning crowd, the chain will offer a plant-based breakfast wrap filled with tofu scramble, Lincolnshire sausage and spinach, which is smothered in a smoky barbecue pinto bean sauce and wrapped in a tortilla.
And Starbucks is offering sweet treats covered this Veganuary with a new Caramel Banana Muffin and Raspberry Almond Mini Bread in its bakery section.
Starbucks
All of these can be ordered with a drink made with your choice of vegan milk without supplement– a policy Starbucks adopted across its more than 1,000 UK stores during Veganuary last year.
Starbucks UK celebrates Veganuary
The new limited-time menu follows Starbucks UK’s continued support of Veganuary, which in 2021 has resulted in some exciting plant-based options.
Last year, Starbucks UK added a Tu’NAH sandwich made with The Vegetarian Butcher vegan tuna. Officially his first vegan tuna sandwich, the handheld also included red onion, cucumber, arugula (arugula) and vegan mayonnaise. Starbucks has also added three vegan options to its bakery box: Pecan & Caramel Brownie, Carrot Cake (with oatmeal frosting), and Chocolate & Caramel Muffin.
Additionally, the UK arm of the coffee chain has introduced Starbucks Original Nut Blend, its own vegan milk made from a blend of light rice milk, hazelnuts and cashews that the chain has developed over the course of 15 months. Starbucks Original Nut Blend became the fifth vegan milk option – alongside oats, almond, coconut and soy – at Starbucks UK just in time for Veganuary last year.
In 2020, Starbucks got into the Vegan spirit with the launch of four sandwiches. The Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich included a Beyond Meat patty and was served with tomato relish, tofu scramble and vegan cheese, on a pretzel roll and the Mini Ciabatta cheese and kettle sandwich was made with shredded mature vegan cheddar cheese.
Starbucks
The chain will add two wraps: Chick’n & BBQ Bean Hot Wrap filled with flame-grilled chicken, barbecue beans, spinach, red onion, cilantro and lime juice and Sweetcorn Fritter Wrap filled with a golden corn fritter, smoked barbecue. sauce and red cabbage wrapped in a tomato tortilla.
In addition to its exciting Veganuary offers each year, Starbucks UK is also attracting customers with vegan PSLs in the fall which can be ordered with vegan whipped cream.
Vegan food in Starbucks territory
Unfortunately, the PSL is not vegan in the United States but Starbucks explored some fall vegan drink options. In 2022, Starbucks launched its first vegan fall drink as is, the Apple Crispy Oat Milk Macchiato.
Starbucks
While the food business at Starbucks UK is a wonderland of vegan options, the same is not true for its US locations where it has yet to launch a bakery product or savory sandwich. national scale. However, Starbucks has done limited testing on several vegan options that may end up on the national menu.
Most recently, in October 2022, the channel was quietly added six vegan menu items in three stores in the United States, a Reserve location on Michigan Avenue in Washington, DC and two in Virginia.
“Starbucks continues to transform how we drive innovation for the future of the business,” a Starbucks spokesperson told VegNews at the time. “One of the ways we’re doing this is by focusing on improving the Starbucks experience by testing and expanding our food menu.”
What was on the menu? Two types of Sous Vide Egg Bites (Plant-Based Chicken & Pepper Sausage and Plant-Based Smoked Poblano & Black Beans) made with JUST Egg Chicken and Daring Foods; a mini egg bite stuffed sandwich with chicken sausage; and three sweet options (Golden Ginger Coconut Boba Bite, Mocha Coconut Boba Bite, and Warm Oatmeal Bite with Granola Crunch).
And while its UK outposts no longer charge extra for vegan milk substitutions, its US sites are also lagging behind in this regard.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the editor-in-chief of VegNews and always keeps tabs on all things vegan in her hometown of San Francisco, California, and everywhere else.
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