Why Does Non-Dairy Milk Cost More?

At Saxbys, we’re all about plant-powered options. Whether it’s your morning latte, a grilled cheese, a smoothie, or even a breakfast burrito - we have vegan options for every single menu category. In fact, we were ahead of the game—offering oat milk before it was widely available in 2019 and featuring JUST Egg before most people even knew it existed! 

So, why do we charge extra for almond and oat milk? One of our Core Values is to Care Personally & Communicate Openly, so let’s break it down: 

Non-Dairy Milk Costs More (for Now!)

We pay 40% more for plant-based milk than for dairy milk. That’s a big gap! We don’t upcharge when adding milk (dairy or non-dairy) to most drinks. The upcharge only applies when subbing plant-based milk in milk-based drinks—like lattes, which are about 90% milk. Even with that small upcharge, our margins on plant-based versions are still lower than their dairy counterparts.

We’ve Been Working to Remove the Upcharge

We’ve been keeping a close eye on this, and we’re getting closer than ever! As supply increases (especially oat milk, which was super limited back in 2019), prices are slowly shifting. We’ve set a clear goal with our suppliers:

👉 If the price gap between dairy and plant-based milk shrinks from 40% to 20%, we’ll absorb the rest—and drop the upcharge!

The Reality of Menu Pricing

You might have noticed that last year, Starbucks removed their non-dairy upcharge—but also raised their base prices. Independent coffee shops & smaller chains like Saxbys don’t have the same buying power, so we work extra hard to keep prices fair. Right now, 64% of our guests choose dairy, while 23% choose oat milk and 13% choose almond milk. Instead of raising prices for everyone, we’re focused on reducing our plant-based milk costs so we can eliminate the upcharge the right way.

Respect for Our Suppliers

We believe in treating our suppliers with respect. Plant-based milk costs more to produce, and we don’t think the solution is pressuring suppliers to lower their prices unfairly. Instead, we’re focused on finding a win-win-win —one that works for our guests, our suppliers, and our sustainability goals.

Have Thoughts?  We want to hear from you!

We know there’s been some chatter about this recently (even a mystery website claiming to “expose” us and our ‘milk tax’—yikes!). Some of the messages sent to our team have come from bots and fake accounts, but real conversations matter to us.

So if you have feedback, questions, or just want to share ideas about anything on our menu, we’d love to hear from you! Email AlexandraRomey@hellosaxbys.com, Director of Product & Operations Implementation anytime. She reads and responds to every single message from our guests.

Thanks for being part of the Saxbys community! Your voice helps shape what’s next. ❤️