This week, Starbucks added vegan beef to its menu at more than 57 stores across Indonesia, primarily in Jakarta and Bali. The vegan beefless chunks are made by local plant-based startup Green Butcher—which is operated by the founder of Indonesia’s largest plant-based chain Burgreens—and is featured in three vegetarian items: Wellington Pocket, Sloppy Joe, and Focaccia Bread. None of the items can be ordered vegan as they all contain either dairy-based cheese or eggs. The Starbucks launch represents the restaurant debut of Green Butcher’s vegan products, which are made from non-GMO soy, chickpeas, mushrooms, and seitan.
Starbucks goes plant-based
In recent months, Starbucks has been adding plant-based meat to its menus in a number of global markets. In April, Starbucks added Beyond Meat and OmniPork (made by Hong Kong-based OmniFoods) to the menu of 4,200 locations in China. In the United Kingdom, the coffee chain added four fully vegan sandwiches (some made with Beyond Meat and vegan cheese) to its menus this January in honor of Veganuary. At more than 200 locations of Starbucks in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, customers can now order two meatless sandwiches made with Beyond Meat.
Stateside, Starbucks is also exploring plant-based meat options. In June, the chain launched the meatless Impossible Breakfast Sandwich nationwide, marking the first time it offered plant-based meat on its menu in the United States. While that sandwich cannot be ordered vegan, Starbucks began testing a number of fully plant-based options in 2020—including the Plant Powered Breakfast Sandwich which features plant-based sausage, vegan egg, and non-dairy cheese—at one location in Issaquah, WA (right outside of Seattle). In January, the success of that test resulted in an expanded limited launch of the vegan sandwich and other vegan items at select Dallas area locations.
This post was originally published on VegNews.com.
