Extra for non-animal milk?
I’m looking for reader input with this blog post.
The following information was sent to me by Isabel, a reader based in Leeds who is a bit annoyed that her local café charges her 30p extra for soya milk in her coffee.
Check out Isabel’s gripe below:
I know you’re quite familiar with Leeds and you may know the ‘Opposite’ cafes – there is one Opposite the University steps and another in the Victoria Quarter nowadays. I went to the Uni branch for a coffee this morning and asked whether soya milk was available. I was told yes, but when I paid was told there is a 30p surcharge. I have had a conversation with the manager about this. He says that the soya product they use (which is Bonsoy) is over three times as expensive as the organic cow milk they use, so they have to charge extra. I would have thought that having vegans and dairy-free people as customers would outweigh this, but apparently not! It makes me so sad to feel I’m being charged extra for being compassionate, and especially as they sell vegan flapjack and cake, this should be one place which takes a small financial hit in order to embrace vegans as customers.
Thanks for the input, Isabel. If you live in Leeds and would like to join the discussion with Opposites, have a word on Twitter.
And now to ask for your input.
If you have a local coffee shop that does NOT charge extra for plant-based milks, we all wanna know about it. Post names and links below so we can build up a list of affordable coffee vendors.
I would also be keen to hear from business owners who have found a way to make it financially viable to not charge extra for soya, rice, almond and/or coconut milks.
Green Rocket Cafe in Bath doesn’t charge extra for soya or almond milk
Business point of view: Best way is to give feedback to management – they can strike deals with distributors by buying in bulk. It pays to be persistent with this strategy. They could also team up with another shop that buys the same product to buy in bulk. Maybe they could try another brand of plant-based milk that is cheaper? eg Some brands of almond milk now selling wholesale at 40p a litre. They could also trial lowering the price, sample it like crazy and see if sales go up. This would be the better option to show non-vegans that vegan food is affordable. From a personal point of view, when I was young I worked 2-3 jobs to afford the things I valued and really cared about. eg travel & better food. Hope this helps. In any case, people buying vegan food are investing in the world’s better future too, as well as caring for animals.
My local cafe in Romford http://www.theprohibitionlounge.co.uk serve soya and almond milk at no extra charge. The hot choc they use is non vegan, but they get the fancy stuff out if you say you want a vegan one! And if you ring ahead they’ll specially make vegan cake for you!
It annoys me when I am charged for soya milk because I don’t think it necessarily costs many large establishments more to provide it. But having had the conversation with the manager as Isabel has I would suggest alternatives as Jennifer has or accept it.
It seems unreasonable to expect that “having vegans and dairy-free people as customers would outweigh” breaking even, let alone making a profit? I really am not sure why someone would feel that a particular business “should be one place which takes a small financial hit in order to embrace vegans as customers” – having looked up their website I cannot see why they, above any other cafe, should lose money on sales in order to attract vegans – am I missing something?
I am fine paying extra for my non-dairy milk, but what I want is for dairy milk drinkers to pay MORE than me as a punishment for hurting cows and the environment.