Starbucks partners with Beyond Meat, Oatly to introduce plant-based meat and drinks menu in China
Packaging for the new menu items is made from plant-based material.
Starbucks has partnered with Beyond Meat and Oatly to introduce a plant-based food and beverage menu across all its stores in China.
The coffee giant began selling lasagna, pasta and a wrap filled with Beyond Meat grounds, which are made from pea protein. This marks the first time Beyond Meat products are being sold in China.
On the beverages side, Starbucks said it is introducing Oatly’s oat milk to the core beverage menu in all stores, also creating oat milk versions of its latte and matcha latte beverages, as well as a special limited-time offer Berries Oatmilk Black Tea Macchiato.
“Through our new plant-based platform, we seek to inspire new routines by inviting everyone to eat good, feel good and do good. Together, we can take a small, humble step to make a better world,” said Leo Tsoi, svp, COO and president, Starbucks China Retail.
Packaging for the new menu items is made from plant-based material, with products also featuring a sleeve made from recycled milk cartons which opens to form a meal mat, reducing the need for cleaning up. A handle is also integrated into the packaging design to remove any need for secondary packaging.
Sustainable merchandise
Starbucks has also launched a line of merchandise, including tumblers and notebooks that are made with recycled coffee grounds collected from Starbucks stores. The coffee grounds are processed and mixed with polypropene to form an industrial grade material with over 30% recycled coffee ground content, which the chain says can be used to manufacture a variety of lifestyle items.
Starbucks previously announced plans to build a Coffee Innovation Park in China by 2022, which aims to become “the most energy, water and waste efficient roasting operations for Starbucks around the world.”
Last year, Starbucks also eliminated plastic straws from all its stores in the mainland, said to have saved about 200 tons of plastic waste annually. Starbucks said it is accelerating the rollout of new waste sorting stations and will complete installation in over 80% of its stores by the end of September 2020.
