Starbucks Will Add Plant-Based Meat to Breakfast Menu Across US and Canada This Year

Coffee chain Starbucks confirmed that a plant-based breakfast sandwich is scheduled to debut this year. “We will be introducing a breakfast sandwich this year with a plant-based patty both in [the] United States and Canada,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Rosalind Brewer said during an earnings call this week. While Starbucks has yet to reveal which plant-based food supplier it will partner with on the forthcoming sandwich, competing coffee brand Dunkin’ partnered with vegan brand Beyond Meat last year to launch its Beyond Sausage Sandwich at its more than 1,900 locations nationwide in November. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson recently released a sustainability plan that includes the company’s mission to add more plant-based options to reduce its carbon footprint. After an audit found that the majority of Starbucks’ carbon footprint (21 percent) is driven by its dairy products, Johnson explained that he will steer the company away from animal milk and toward more environmentally friendly plant-based alternatives, stating, “Alternative milks will be a big part of the solution. The consumer-demand curve is already shifting.”