Your Dairy-Free Starbucks Order Is About to Get Cheaper

In a time when inflation is making everything from filling your gas tank to purchasing groceries more expensive, Starbucks is taking a step in the opposite direction and lowering prices. The decrease will only be applied to the cost of alternative milks, making it a little less expensive for vegans — and those who opt to follow a dairy-free lifestyle for health reasons — to purchase their daily cup of Joe.

That's right! Starbucks will no longer add an upcharge on orders where customers ask to swap milk-based creamers for dairy-free alternatives. 

Keep reading to learn when Starbucks will roll out the new pricing on their non-dairy items, and how much money the move will likely save shoppers. 

On Oct. 30, 2024, Starbucks issued a press release, updating customers about the proposed change. Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol explained the decision in the statement.

"Core to the Starbucks Experience is the ability to customize your beverage to make it yours. By removing the extra charge for non-dairy milks we’re embracing all the ways our customers enjoy their Starbucks," Niccol wrote.

It sounds like the company came to a decision partially based on customer feedback. The press release explains that milk substitutes, like almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk, are among some of the most requested customizations (the first being the addition of an extra shot of expresso, naturally).

This change will likely help customers keep more hard-earned cash in their wallets since the coffee conglomerate estimates that these upcharges can tack an extra 10 percent onto an order.

Starbucks customers won't see a change in the price of their order until Nov. 7, 2024, when the change officially goes into effect. Responses to the company's decision have been largely positive, but some still wonder why it took the company as long as it did to make the switch.

"People should never have been getting charged because of allergies or dietary restrictions. It’s [about] time," one person wrote on the company's Instagram announcement.

Another person seconded the sentiment, writing, "Finally because my intolerance shouldn’t be taxed."

Others were suspicious that this was a sign that the company intended to hike prices elsewhere on the menu. "Good way to tell us you’re raising your prices again," they wrote.

Whether the change is to offset the sticker shock of upcoming pricing increases or not, some point out that the decision to make it more affordable for shoppers to opt for dairy-free options is a good one for more than just our wallets, it can also help the planet. 

That's because non-dairy milk is much better for the environment as it generally requires fewer resources to produce.

It also eliminates the need for dairy cows, which are often kept in inhumane conditions by large agricultural firms.

Hopefully, this change will allow more Starbucks shoppers to choose a non-dairy option since they'll no longer have to fork over extra cash to do so.