4 Big Brands Looking Out For Vegans & Vegetarians

The food industry is expanding.

More and more, people are giving up meat and milk and opting for the healthier lifestyles of vegan and vegetarianism.

Now we’re seeing more of a push in local food establishments to be more inclusive with options ranging from plant-based meats to non-dairy treats.

Although meat and milk alternatives aren’t available everywhere (yet), these four big-name brands have already started featuring these items on their menus, and now fruitarians can enjoy local plant-based treats and eats, too!

If you’re inaccessible to a specialty shop or restaurant, here are some iconic brands with vegan and vegetarian choices that you can pick up virtually anywhere.

Dunkin Donuts

Great news for vegan coffee drinkers, Dunkin Donuts offers vegan-friendly options too!

In January 2020, to extend their list of milk alternatives, which include coconut and almond milk, the brand began offering Planet Oat’s Oat Milk throughout California.

By August 2020, Dunkin Donuts’ menu featured oat milk in all locations nationwide, making it one of the first national fast-food chains to do so.

Use it to replace cream in any of their standard hot or iced coffees or enjoy a non-dairy exclusive like their signature oat milk latte.

Not in the mood for coffee? Cool down with one of their Strawberry or Raspberry Coolattas or their green tea-infused Dunkin’ Refreshers, none of which contain dairy.

If you’re looking for a quick bite, in addition to their bakery menu, vegetarians can chow down on the Beyond Sausage sandwich, which is available in select locations throughout the West Coast. Enjoy the plant-based Beyond sausage sandwiched between an English muffin, eggs, and American cheese. Choose to make it vegan by removing the optional eggs and cheese.

Vegetarians also have the option of their egg and cheese sandwich or the veggie egg white omelet sandwich packed with egg whites, spinach, bell peppers, onions, and olive oil on thin multigrain bread.

Starbucks

Whether you’re looking for a bite for breakfast or coffee on the go, Starbucks has solutions to your dairy-free needs.

For breakfast, this coffee powerhouse offers protein-packed “egg bites,” which come in two flavors: roasted red pepper or kale & portabella mushroom.

The menu also includes oatmeal; add a splash of almond, coconut, or soy milk to the dried fruit, nuts, and brown sugar combo.

Vegetarians may enjoy their Impossible breakfast sandwich made with the plant-based Impossible sausage, a fried egg, and cheddar cheese.

If you’re stopping by on your lunch break, check out their protein boxes — boxed meals that offer proteins like peanut butter and chickpeas instead of turkey or chicken.

Starbucks also offers a selection of wraps and sandwiches.

Vegetarians can explore their egg-white wrap with spinach and feta, a tomato & mozzarella panini, and a crispy grilled cheese sandwich brushed with parmesan butter.

Once you’ve had your fill of food, wash it down with their signature hot or iced coffees–-almond, soy, and coconut milk are all available add-ons.

Fans of non-dairy milk will be happy to know that Starbucks began introducing oat milk this past Spring in select locations. This debut came with two new specialty drinks: the honey oat milk latte and the iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso.

Vegan’s can take the Starbucks experience home with their brand of supermarket coffee creamers, including almond and oat milk-based caramel macchiato, hazelnut latte, and Fall-time-fave pumpkin spice.

Nestle

Food industry giants Nestle have given us everything from coffee to candy to cereal, but recently they started exploring new culinary options.

The Swiss household brand crossed over to the vegan and vegetarian market in 2017 with ownership of Sweet Earth Foods.

Sweet Earth Foods is an award-winning brand that creates vegan and vegetarian meals with a modern twist. The company promises to “never compromise on taste” and puts a plant-based spin on classic recipes like the enchilada, pad thai, Mongolian beef, and the Cubano.

Hailing from California, the company has blessed supermarkets nationwide with their succulent bowls, pizzas, burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and signature meats, featuring sausage, hot dogs, seitan, and deli slices.

The Sweet Earth roster features inventive plant-based recipes, like kimchi and cashew burgers and pizza mac and cheese.

Their lineup contains a wide selection of multi-cultural cuisines, such as Latin, Asian, Indian, Italian, and Southwestern.

Sweet Earth Foods continues to put new vegetable products on the market. One of their latest includes their Chicken bacon ranch pizza, a wheat and psyllium crusted pie topped with mozzarella cheese, ranch sauce, diced tomatoes, onions, and poblano peppers, along with their trademarked chicken and benevolent bacon.

To distinguish the vegan meals, labels are placed on the upper right-hand corner of the packaging.

Sweet Earth can be found in most local retailers like Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods, but to customize your selection, you can use their search engine at goodnes.com to find products near you.

Ben & Jerrys

Just because you don’t eat dairy shouldn’t imply that you can’t enjoy ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s is here to satisfy that craving.

Ben & Jerry’s kicked off their vegan desserts in 2016, in response to the outcries from their vegan fanbase “Vegans and others who don’t eat dairy, we heard you. That’s why we launched our Non-Dairy flavors—because we all, especially when it comes to dessert, deserve to feel complete and fulfilled.” (benjerry.com).

They started with four flavors: PB & Cookies, Coffee Caramel Fudge, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Chunky Monkey. Since then, the Vermont ice cream enterprise has expanded to a whopping 19 flavors.

The company makes its plant-based creations using one of two bases: almond milk and sunflower butter.

Almond milk is used in flavors like Caramel Almond Brittle, Netflix & Chilll’d, and the gluten-free Cherry Garcia, while sunflower butter can be found in Crème Brûlée Cookie and Mint Chocolate Cookie.

You can enjoy some of their most popular flavors in a non-dairy alternative, like Phish Food, Milk & Cookies, and The Tonight Dough, for example, or exclusive vegan flavors like Colin Kaepernick’s Change the Whirled.

Take a pint of ice cream home at a local supermarket or stop by one of their 615 Ben & Jerry locations to enjoy these exclusive flavors.

-Kaillaby

Photo by Alex Kondratiev on Unsplash