Starbucks To Serve Oat Milk Honey Latte In 1300 Locations

(RTTNews) - Coffee retail giant Starbucks (SBUX) announced Tuesday that it will serve oat milk honey latte in about 1,300 Starbucks cafes in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Until now, Starbucks only offered oat milk at a handful of its US locations. The company started serving oat milk in Europe in 2018. The oatmilk in Midwestern locations will be supplied by Swedish oat milk maker Oatly.

According to CNBC, the demand for oat milk increased in late 2016 when Oatly entered the U.S. and targeted coffee shops like Chicago-based Intelligentsia. Oat milk sales have skyrocketed 636% in the 52 weeks ended October 26, according to Nielsen. The dairy-free drink is made by soaking oats in water.

Starbucks added its first non-dairy alternative, soy milk, in 2004, before adding coconut milk in 2015 and almond milk in 2016.

"Starbucks Blonde Espresso pairs well with the lighter texture of milk alternatives, especially almond milk," Starbucks product developer Raegan Powell said in a blog post. "It's a little bit nuttier, so it complements the almond-based milk."