Starbucks has joined forces with Beyond Meat and Oatly to offer a new plant-based food and beverage lunch menu in its stores across China.
The partnership marks Beyond Meat’s entry into the country, as the meat alternative brand looks to expand into Asia. For the Swedish oat milk brand Oatly, meanwhile, it marks its biggest partnership in Asia to date.
The announcement follows Starbuck’s reopening of most of its stores in China since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
As part of the deal, Starbucks has used Beyond Beef to create three new dishes – featuring pasta, lasagne and a wrap – inspired by modern international favourites and designed with the palates of Chinese consumers in mind.
The new lunch menu will also include dishes from Omnipork, a plant-based alternative brand created by Hong-Kongese food-tech firm Right Treat.
“Today we mark an important milestone as Beyond Meat launches in China, advancing our goal of increasing accessibility to plant-based protein globally,” said Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat founder and CEO.
Brown addeds: “We are proud to support Starbucks in furthering their efforts around health and sustainability while offering Chinese consumers more diverse protein options.”
Since 2007, Starbucks has offered soymilk in China but following its partnership with Oatly, customers at all China Starbucks stores will be able to customise their beverages with oat milk.
As part of this new announcement, Starbucks has also created oat milk versions of its two signature beverages, Oatmilk Latte and Oatmilk Matcha Latte, and for a limited-time, Berries Oatmilk Black Tea Maccchiato.
The new menu items, available now across the Chinese mainland, will be packaged in plant-based materials and will feature a sleeve made from recycled milk cartons which dual functions as a meal mat.
Starbucks’ new plant-based platform marks the global coffee chain’s latest chapter in its sustainability commitment.
Leo Tsoi, senior vice president, COO and president of Starbucks China Retail, said: “Our new menu items make it easy and enjoyable to explore new lifestyles, starting from what we eat and drink. Through our new plant-based platform, we seek to inspire new routines by inviting everyone to eat good, feel good and do good.”
As part of this commitment, earlier this year Starbucks announced that it is investing approximately $130 million in China to open a roasting facility, as part of its new Coffee Innovation Park (CIP) focused on sustainability.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
