Charging more for non-dairy milk in coffee? That’s discrimination, lawsuits allege

Coffee shops charging more for plant-based milk is par for the course. At Starbucks, for example, if you order a latte made with oat milk instead of dairy, you can expect to pay a whole dollar more for the smallest size. Plantbased options are constantly expanding — from soy and oat to almond, pea and coconut — but at a cost.

Customers have been calling for an end to plant-based surcharges for years, and recently, they’ve taken their complaints to court.

On March 12, California residents Maria Bollinger, Dawn Miller and Shunda Smith filed a class-action lawsuit alleging Starbucks’ “excessively high” non-dairy surcharge is a form of discrimination against customers with lactose intolerance and milk allergies, CBS News reports.

The plaintiffs allege that by charging customers an extra US$0.50 to US$0.80 to swap plant-based or lactose-free milk for two per cent, Starbucks has, in effect, created “a separate, higher-priced menu, aimed at customers who cannot ingest milk” — while substituting whole milk, half and half cream and skim milk at no additional charge.

Ninety-five per cent of Starbucks shareholders voted against PETA’S proposal to drop the extra charge for plant-based milk at an annual meeting on March 13, Green Queen reports. The company declined to comment on the ongoing case.

The Starbucks lawsuit followed a similar claim filed against Dunkin’ in January. The 10 plaintiffs suing the U.S. coffee and doughnut chain for $5 million have lactose intolerance or milk allergies. They claim that paying as much as US$2.15 extra for non-dairy options is a form of discrimination and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

More than two in three people (roughly 68 per cent) have lactose intolerance worldwide, according to the U.K.’S National Institute of Health.

The Dunkin’ lawsuit says the coffee chain profited by charging customers with lactose intolerance more, even though there is “no material difference between the price of lactose-containing milks and ... non-dairy alternatives.”