Starbucks to Launch a Beyond Meat Breakfast Sandwich. That’s the Good News. But there’s a Catch

On the way to work, I am in a cab and see a report that Starbucks is launching its first Beyond Meat Breakfast Sandwich. I got so excited I ran into the office, dropped my bag and told my colleagues. Then I googled the story and found out that it's only in Canada. Wait, what?

Why is it that Starbucks and other chains always test out their plant-based options elsewhere, and only come to New York, or the US for that matter, well after they have "proven" the case overseas or in single county markets where "failure" can be mitigated with safe buffers against criticism. We want plant-based options here, and we don't want to wait until they get the stamp of approval in Canada or smaller cities across the country. Starbucks, be bold, and bring it to NYC. If you can make it here, as the song says, you can make it anywhere!

Consumers keep pushing for plant-based options at fast-food restaurants and companies are delivering, but not fast enough and often with real cheese, real egg and leaving us plant-based eaters to strip out the other ingredients to make it work for us. Chains like Dunkin, Burger King and White Castle have proven that plant-options in fast-food settings are not only possible but widely successful. Starbucks, get the memo.l

Starting March 3rd, 1,400 Starbucks in Canada will offer a sandwich with Beyond Meat but that won't make the growing demographic of plant-based eaters in Canada happy unless they also serve it up with non-dairy cheese and may we suggest the new JUST Egg omelet product, which is delicious? Kevin Johnson, the Starbucks Chief Executive, told the press "the company would add plant-based menu options as part of its sustainability commitment." Great. We love that. Bring it to the US, please.

Starbucks also recently announced the addition of oat-milk to their list of plant-based  milks, but they still charge a surplus for the non-dairy milk options and PETA and others have staged major protests about what they characterize as the "vegan tax." Rosalind Gates Brewer,StarbuCOO told Yahoo Finance: “The combination of those pairings is significant for us in terms of how we think about what the customer is asking for us to develop."

What Will the Plant-Based Sandwich Taste Like?

Starbucks will use Beyond Meat Inc., a leading producer in vegan meat, and notes that the sandwich will be “uniquely designed with the Starbucks customer mind.” Starbucks worked closely with Beyond Meat to add flavor to the Starbucks patty, so consumers can recognize the difference between the plant-based and original Starbucks sausage.

Dunkin’ also worked closely with Beyond Meat to create a plant-based sausage patty that tastes similar to the Dunkin's signature sausage pepper flavor. Although Starbucks calls their sandwich “plant-based”, it isn't vegan since it contains dairy and egg, but we are glad to see more and more meatless options becoming available.

Is the breakfast sandwich coming to the U.S?

Starbucks never made certain whether or not U.S locations would see a plant-based breakfast sandwich, but Brewer, told the press, “customers can likely expect one sometime this year.” We're ready when you are, Starbucks!