Vegan Cupcakes Debut at Starbucks

Starbucks added an all-vegan dessert option—a passionfruit vegan cupcake—at select locations in South Florida this week. The gluten-free, fruit-based cupcake is made by Florida-based vegan bakery Bunnie Cakes—which recently expanded into a cake-decorating studio. “This proves to me that we are changing the way we see things, the way we eat,” Bunnie Cakes owner Mariana Cortez told Latest Vegan News. “Years ago, I couldn’t find a vegan cake for my son in Miami. Today, we are partnering with one the biggest business[es] in the US.” After only two days, Cortez reports that two Starbucks locations sold out of her vegan cupcakes before noon. Animal-rights organization Compassion Over Killing (COK) recently partnered with news anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell on a social media campaign to demand more vegan food at Starbucks. “Starbucks is responding as thousands join COK and Jane Velez-Mitchell in asking for more vegan foods,” COK Executive Director Erica Meier said. “By brewing up more nationwide vegan options, Starbucks has the opportunity to put these foods at the fingertips of a soaring consumer market.” Starbucks is currently testing the cupcake at 13 South Florida locations with the possibility of introducing the vegan dessert to more coffeehouses in the future.