UK bakery chain GAIL’s has announced it will drop its surcharge on soy milk, just weeks after PETA launched a national campaign urging it to make the change.
Over 12,000 people have reportedly written to GAIL’s to request the end of the upcharge; in response, the chain confirmed it will stop charging for soy milk from May 21, though customers who choose oat milk will still have to pay extra. PETA says it will continue to urge GAIL’s and other chains to stop charging for all milk alternatives.
Companies such as Starbucks, Pret A Manger, and Patisserie Valerie have already removed all their plant-based milk surcharges, while some others, including Café Nero and Costa, offer at least one milk alternative that does not cost extra.
“More people than ever are choosing plant milks”
The movement to drop plant-based milk surcharges is also gaining momentum in North America; Starbucks, Scooter’s Coffee, Peet’s Coffee, Dunkin’, and Tim Hortons have all done so within the past year.
In many cases, the chains were spurred on by advocacy from charities such as PETA and Mercy for Animals, who made the argument that surcharges unfairly penalize consumers for making sustainable choices. Campaigners have also pointed out that many people are lactose intolerant and cannot consume dairy.
“Charging more for plant milk leaves a bad taste in customers’ mouths, particularly when it is a choice they make for their health, to be kind to cows, or for the planet,” said PETA. “From oat flat whites to soya lattes, more people than ever are choosing plant milks, and the consumption of dairy milk in the UK has declined by nearly 50% over the past 50 years. GAIL’s has made life easier for coffee-deprived customers by making its soya latte equal in price.”
