• Starbucks will not be stopping its business policy of charging for plant-based milk on January 1, 2022.
• A false press release was sent to Plant Based News on Thursday by an unknown organization claiming to be Starbucks.

A statement from Starbucks sent to PBN denies that the company plans to drop the upcharge for plant-based milk and begin charging extra for dairy milk. 

According to a spokesperson, the announcement was a spoof. However, it was not immediately clear who was responsible for it.

In the earlier announcement, PBN received a press release from an unknown entity calling itself Starbucks Cares. The organization describes itself as “an internal division tasked with centralizing the company’s efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

According to Starbucks Cares, the decision to drop the upcharge was based on the prevalence of lactose intolerance in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. 

This has not been the first time Starbucks has come under fire for the upcharge on plant-based milks, Plant Based News reported on a similar story in early November 2021 after animal rights group PETA took aim at the multi-national.

But Starbucks global communications manager Megan Lagesse has revealed the announcement is fake. In a statement sent to PBN, she said:

“This announcement is false, and the website is not associated with Starbucks.”

Starbucks offers oat, soy, almond, and coconut milks at an upcharge of up to 70 cents in the US, regardless of the size of the drink. 

Starbucks Workers Union

In breaking news on The Independent, a story released by the outlet earlier today detailed how Starbucks executives were flown in to scupper a union vote in upstate New York

In a much-anticipated breakthrough, the same news outlet in the UK also reported ‘Starbucks workers form a first-ever union in company history’.

In public comments following the union campaign, Kevin Johnson – the company’s CEO – told The Wall Street Journal that an attempt to unionize Starbucks workers “goes against having that direct relationship with our partners that has served us so well for decades and allowed us to build this great company.”

In a statement to employees on 7 December, Mr. Johnson said he respected the union election process.

Plant Based News can exclusively reveal that the elaborate spoof targeted at US corporate Starbucks was orchestrated by leading dairy-free advocacy group Switch4Good and spoof group ‘The Yes Men’

*Update Thursday 9th, 7:09 pm* Updated to include a statement from Starbucks Deputy Head Of Communications Jerelyn Curlew.

*Update Thursday 9th, 7:52 pm* Updated to include information about Starbucks Employees successfully forming the first workers union in the companies history.

*Update Thursday 9th 11:26 pm* Updated to remove a false quote on the request of Starbucks USA.