Starbucks announced 'CauliMilk' on April Fool's Day as a plant-based milk option for its stores that does not cost an additional surcharge. Also on April Fool's Day, Starbucks announced a new 'Gigante' size that is even larger than its 'Venti' and 'Trenta' sizes. While the CauliMilk is not a real product, and the new size is unfortunately not coming to fruition, Starbucks also announced a genuine initiative amongst the humorous campaign.
Starbucks is looking into plant-based milk substitutes beyond oat, soy, coconut, and almond. The brand announced that it is, in fact, looking to reduce its plant-based milk surcharge by finding new alternatives. The surcharge has currently been dropped at roughly 1,000 stores in the United Kingdom, but the other tens of thousands of store locations still charge a small extra fee for milk substitutes. Starbucks has not given a timeline for this new initiative, but it is actively looking into its options for the near future.
Vegan Milk Initiatives
Starbucks Announced 'CauliMilk' as a Humorous Campaign with a Real Message
Trend Themes
1. Plant-based Milk - Starbucks is exploring plant-based milk options beyond oat, soy, coconut, and almond, leading to an opportunity for companies to develop innovative and sustainable milk substitutes.
2. Reduce Milk Surcharge - Starbucks is looking to reduce surcharges on plant-based milk by exploring new alternatives, creating an opportunity for companies to develop cost-effective and eco-friendly milk substitutes.
3. Humorous Campaigns - Starbucks' use of humor as a means of communicating its initiatives presents an opportunity for other companies to use humor as a way of discussing serious issues with their audiences.
Industry Implications
1. Dairy Alternatives - The search for new plant-based milk options presents an opportunity for dairy alternative companies to partner with Starbucks and create more sustainable and cost-effective products.
2. Food and Beverage - The reduction of surcharges on plant-based milk in Starbucks stores presents an opportunity for other food and beverage companies to follow suit and promote more sustainable products.
3. Marketing and Advertising - The use of humor in Starbucks' CauliMilk campaign presents an opportunity for marketing and advertising companies to use humor as a tool for communicating serious messages in more engaging ways.