Page 4 | Added costs for plant milks

SnowyQueen · 04/10/2021 07:40

@Silentnight87

I agree. I could understand perhaps a 10p extra charge to cover costs, but even then I think it is excessive considering you pay £3 for a drink. At 50p they recoup that cost to them with each drink!!. I am lactose intolerant so for health reasons need oat/soya replacement. It's annoying it's treated differently to see gluten free food replacement which would be charged at same price (i.e. pizza). It's not just about people being vegan!!!

Hahahaha gluten free food is the same price as normal version? Hahaha. I have coeliac disease and I can’t have dairy either. Gluten free food is incredibly pricey and cafes and restaurants always add an extra £3 or so.

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 07:43

Tbf I knwo couple of pozza places which swallow the difference on glutenfree pizza now the fad died out. It's also because pizza dpugh is cheap and there is minimum difference on the ingredient in the end (the price omes from overheads, time, skill and other ingredients, before someone starts😁)

Spiindoctor · 04/10/2021 07:49

It's a shame - I'm sure the cows would have a pleasanter life if milk was a higher price. I believe it is one of the staples that supermarkets keep low.

SusannaM · 04/10/2021 07:51

Using your logic why isn't my Americano cheaper when I say no thank you to milk and sugar?

Americanos are supposed to be black, so technically the milk is extra.

Plant milk is more expensive, but also more likely to be wasted, as offer shops provide so many variations...soya, almond, coconut and oat.
I have almond in tea and take my own coconut in a small flask (as I prefer it). I'm grateful that coffee shops offer me such a large choice.

jimmyhill · 04/10/2021 07:53

Why is it when I go out and have a hot chocolate and have oat milk or coconut milk there is an added fee. I know it costs more to produce

It's a real headscratcher

MzHz · 04/10/2021 08:03

Get yourself a travel mug, make the drink at home and save yourself a fortune!

If you have a requirement that’s different to the norm, you have to pay for it. Gluten free for example is very expensive and fairly revolting mostly

Non dairy milk costs a lot more to produce, there is more profit in the price to the coffee shop and they have to manage jugs etc for it, this also costs time. You’re not just paying out ridiculous sums for a coffee and a bit of milk, you’re paying for the persons time all the premises and energy costs AND the owners salary.

If you’re making a choice to go non dairy, then you have to understand that costs are going to be higher than the ‘usual’

MzHz · 04/10/2021 08:07

@Spiindoctor

It's a shame - I'm sure the cows would have a pleasanter life if milk was a higher price. I believe it is one of the staples that supermarkets keep low.

The cows out the back of our house are the happiest cows I’ve ever seen, they run and trot out into the fields, come over and stalk watch us through the windows - the farmer is amazing his whole family are and the ladies are so well looked after.

I see the arla tankers coming to collect milk, we drink arla lacto free, so I hope that some of the milk we drink comes from the ladies out back of our house.

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 08:14

Gluten free for example is very expensive and fairly revolting mostly

Lots of the dough is ok nowadays. What's rank is vegan cheese👀

burnoutbabe · 04/10/2021 08:15

@MiaFarrowsWheelbarrow

In the cafe I work in we offer Oat Milk for no extra charge if asked but unfortunately it's very rare so quite often we will open a carton for one drink and it won't be used again and the rest of the carton has to be chucked down the drain after a few days. I would presume if you are paying extra then the expected wastage will have been factored into the additional cost.

This!

When I order an oat milk latte in London I am one of many who do (they did a promo one day on oat milk and I find it lovely and rich /smooth). If I order it out of London then I am often the first person that day, the milk is freshly opened and not even in the fridge before I have it do the drink is actually far too hot to drink for a while!
So I tend to not order it out of London.

But yes it's 50p extra mostly. Sane as a syrup is 50p but I doubt it costs that for a squirt and less risk of that item going off.

cushioncovers · 04/10/2021 08:35

MzHz the cows may look happy but behind the scenes the forced impregnation and the separation of calves from the mother and what happens to the male calves isn't a happy picture.

trancepants · 04/10/2021 09:40

Plant milks cost so much more than cows' milk that I suspect the profit margin is quite a lot less on hot chocolate/chai latte made with a plant milk than a normal hot chocolate. I also read a thread on the feminism board in the last year or so about oat milks, and after that, I'm honestly not sure I'd ever put it into my body again. It's basically run off from pig swill and rapeseed oil. I'm not saying I don't eat shit on occasion but if I'm going to eat shit, it better be a delicious cookie sundae or a spice bag or something insanely satisfying. Not a cup of oil and swill pretending to be a healthy alternative to an actually healthy staple.

trancepants · 04/10/2021 09:49

@Spiindoctor

It's a shame - I'm sure the cows would have a pleasanter life if milk was a higher price. I believe it is one of the staples that supermarkets keep low.

You know the cows wouldn't be alive at all if they weren't being farmed right? And prices are kept low through the EU Common Agricultural Policy that pays farmers grants to cover much of their production costs. Keeping locally produced food, grown/produced under strict guidelines affordable for consumers and ensuring cheaper to produce, less ethical and healthy food from outside the EU is not the default for consumers due to necessity. (I'm not sure how this will work in the UK post Brexit.)

I'm not saying modern European farming is the most ethical and environmental way of producing food. It obviously has many flaws and issues. But when it comes to the health and environmental impact of food, people so often think that what they hear from American statistic is what applies here. And it really, really doesn't.

LadyWithLapdog · 04/10/2021 10:16

I can see where you’re coming from, that extra £0.50 on top of £3 or £3.50 seems like a high mark-up. But there are choices now and maybe it will be more of a default option in the future. I don’t think veganism is a fad, as mentioned by a PP. As for gluten-free being a fad?!

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 10:45

@LadyWithLapdog

I can see where you’re coming from, that extra £0.50 on top of £3 or £3.50 seems like a high mark-up. But there are choices now and maybe it will be more of a default option in the future. I don’t think veganism is a fad, as mentioned by a PP. As for gluten-free being a fad?!

Gluten free was absolutely a fad diet. I always felt for people who actually needed the glutenfree stuff.

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 10:47

"I need the gluten free option giggle trying to eat healthy, you know giggle " 🙄
You always knew who actually needed it from the tone

SuperstarDog · 04/10/2021 10:57

The cows may look happy but behind the scenes the forced impregnation and the separation of calves from the mother and what happens to the male calves isn't a happy picture.

This. And the whole, well they wouldn’t be alive it they weren’t farmed argument from another poster. 🙄

HarrietsChariot · 04/10/2021 11:03

Vegans should always be prepared to pay a premium compared to natural alternatives. Vegan food is much more processed than the natural product it is trying to be a substitute for. (I'm talking about vegan milk, vegan "chicken" &c. NOT raw carrots.)

Vegan prices also need to be higher because of the "saving the planet factor" - some people go vegan because they believe it will help fight climate change. Measures to fight climate change are always more expensive than traditional measures (coal power is cheaper than gas, gas cheaper than wind) so it's understood that vegans are willing to pay a little (or a lot!) more for their principles.

Lavender24 · 04/10/2021 11:09

@NannyOggsward

Because it’s ultra processed crap, they less people drink and therefore is a higher cost to produce as you need all the processing and additives and chemicals.

As opposed to the pus and antibiotics in cow lactation?

NellWilsonsWhiteHair · 04/10/2021 11:12

Mostly I'm happy to pay extra, but there are a couple of things which irk me -

When there is no vegan substitute milk available free. Most places will swap to soya without an additional charge. My workplace doesn't.

The fact that I have to pay the same extra 45p or whatever for a dribble of oat milk in my filter coffee that I would have to pay for a whole hot chocolate or latte which involves way more milk. I know there's no real way to make this fair, but it's annoying!

Oatly need to start selling sachets of milk which would fix my issue 2 I think!

Lavender24 · 04/10/2021 11:13

The dairy farmer, who I think we can all agree is being ripped of royally, is charging what the market will pay for their product.

Not really because they receive massive subsidies from the government for their career of raping cows and shooting their babies.

tofuschnitzel · 04/10/2021 11:19

Pret does not charge extra for dairy alternatives. If they can swallow the cost, I don't see why others can't. Think how much profit coffee shops make on dairy alternatives. 1L of an alternative, which will be cheaper as it's wholesale, sold for 50p a time. How many coffees do they get out of 1L?

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 11:22

@tofuschnitzel

Pret does not charge extra for dairy alternatives. If they can swallow the cost, I don't see why others can't. Think how much profit coffee shops make on dairy alternatives. 1L of an alternative, which will be cheaper as it's wholesale, sold for 50p a time. How many coffees do they get out of 1L?

That's like saying maccies charge 1.99 for cheesburger so everyone should be able to...

LadyWithLapdog · 04/10/2021 11:27

I haven’t met anyone for whom gluten-free was a lifestyle choice but I’m glad if it helped bring about a diversity of GF foods for people who need it. Similarly, I know nobody needs a vegan diet for health reasons (though there are benefits) but I’m glad there’s more of it around for animal welfare reasons.

Talipesmum · 04/10/2021 11:28

@tofuschnitzel

Pret does not charge extra for dairy alternatives. If they can swallow the cost, I don't see why others can't. Think how much profit coffee shops make on dairy alternatives. 1L of an alternative, which will be cheaper as it's wholesale, sold for 50p a time. How many coffees do they get out of 1L?

I use about 300ml milk when I make a latte at home, and plenty of coffee shop mugs are bigger than that. So - maybe 3 lattes out of a 1 litre carton? It’s not much of a mark up…

TheGirlWhoWantedToBeGod · 04/10/2021 11:48

I understand why drinks with plant based milks cost more, if these are more expensive than cows milk.

But what annoys me is the unfair combination of paying more for plant milk, yet on most menus vegan/veggie options - which are cheaper to produce - are often the same price as meat options. And don’t get me started on places where eg a three course meal is a set price regardless of whether you have a veggie pasta dish or eg the fancy beef one.

There seems to be a lot of veggies and vegans subsidising meat eaters going on.