Starbucks is celebrating the holiday season with its festive new lineup of Cran-Merry Orange Refreshers in US stores, its first-ever holiday-themed Refreshers.
The new Cran-Merry Orange Refresher, Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher, and Cran-Merry Drink are designed to highlight cranberries as a symbol of the season. What makes this season extra special is that Starbucks has officially dropped its dairy-free surcharge.
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Starbucks’ holiday refreshers
Starbucks’ first line of holiday Refreshers is inspired by the idea of holiday punch, and each drink can be ordered entirely plant-based.
“These beverages were very much inspired by this idea of a festive punch as a sensorial experience—the appearance, the aroma, the taste,” Billy Altieri, lead beverage developer at Starbucks, said in a statement.
Starbucks
Shaken with ice, the Cran-Merry Orange Refresher combines flavors of sweet orange, warm spices, and crisp cranberry, alongside green coffee extract from unroasted arabica coffee beans, which gives the beverage an invigorating touch.
Meanwhile, the Cran-Merry Orange Lemonade Refresher swaps out cold water for lemonade, adding a layer of tartness, while the Cran-Merry Drink introduces creamy coconutmilk for a richer texture.
While the drinks are iced, the cranberry is associated with the winter season, which continues to grow warmer due to climate change. “Cranberry isn’t the same color you would see in spring or summer. Darker colors cue a little bit of that calming, slower pace,” Altieri said.
“Our customers enjoy Refreshers all year long,” Altieri noted. “We’re excited to bring them something special for the holidays to complement all their activities of the season.”
Starbucks customers can further enhance their beverages by adding dairy-free cold foam, such as non-dairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam.
More holiday offerings from Starbucks
In addition to the Refreshers line, this holiday season, patrons can get three dairy-free drinks from Starbucks’ holiday menu without an added cost for vegan milk substitutions.
Starbucks
1Peppermint Mocha
A holiday favorite for more than two decades, the Peppermint Mocha is made with Starbucks Signature Espresso, steamed milk, mocha sauce, and peppermint-flavored syrup, it is topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. For a plant-based version, customers can request non-dairy milk and ask for no whipped cream or chocolate curls, as the curls contain dairy.
Starbucks
2Chestnut Praline Latte
This holiday beverage combines Starbucks Signature Espresso with steamed milk and flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices, finished with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs. To make the Chestnut Praline Latte vegan-friendly, simply order it with a non-dairy milk and omit the whipped cream.
Starbucks
3Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
The Iced Sugar Cookie Oatmilk Latte—the first vegan as-is holiday option when Starbucks first launched it back in 2021—is back. This beverages features Starbucks Blonde Espresso, sugar cookie-flavored syrup, and almond milk, and comes topped with red and green sprinkles.
Dairy-free cold foams
Starbucks holiday cold foams are also back, offering a way for customers to add a festive flair to their iced beverages. New and returning cold foams include Gingerbread, Peppermint Chocolate, Sugar Cookie, and Chestnut Praline, all of which are offered in a non-dairy format.
Starbucks
Not all Starbucks holiday beverages can be customized to be vegan-friendly. The Caramel Brulée Latte contains a caramel brulée sauce that includes dairy, making it unsuitable for customization. Similarly, the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai contains chai tea concentrate that includes honey and cannot be removed. Further, the Caramel Brulée Cream Cold Foam is also not available without dairy.
Goodbye, dairy-free surcharge
Coinciding with the holiday menu launch, Starbucks has eliminated its vegan milk surcharge at its locations across the US and Canada.
The previous dairy-alternative surcharges in some regions reached up to 80 cents per drink. Starbucks’ decision is expected to make plant-based choices more accessible, allowing customers to enjoy their favorite holiday beverages without the added fee.
“Core to the Starbucks experience is the ability to customize your beverage to make it yours,” Brian Niccol, the chain’s CEO, said in a statement. “By removing the extra charge for non-dairy milks, we’re embracing all the ways our customers enjoy their Starbucks.”
Niccol, who joined Starbucks in September after a six-year tenure at Chipotle, has made improving the customer experience a central goal.
This change follows years of customer pressure, legal challenges, and celebrity campaigns by advocacy groups such as PETA, Mercy For Animals, and Switch4Good, signaling a significant shift under Niccol’s new leadership.
Starbucks
This change affects more than 16,000 Starbucks locations in the US and Canada and can save customers up to 10 percent per beverage.
“For years, Mercy For Animals has engaged with Starbucks, urging the company to implement plant-based menu strategies to reduce the chain’s food-related environmental impact,” Jennifer Behr, Corporate Relations Manager at Mercy For Animals, said in a statement.
“With this move, Starbucks joins the growing list of companies offering plant-based milk at no extra cost, making clear that sustainable options should be the norm, not the exception,” Behr said.
Given that dairy accounts for the largest share of Starbucks’ carbon footprint, removing the dairy-free milk surcharge lifts an obstacle for customers looking to make more environmentally friendly choices.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
