- Customers in Italy will no longer pay a surcharge to choose milk alternatives (oat, soy, coconut, almond) in their beverages, now priced the same as cow’s milk
- An initiative designed to enhance the Starbucks Experience: the ability to customize your drink to make it unique is what has always set the brand apart
- To celebrate this moment, Starbucks Italy collaborated with Pietro Terzini, whose unique works highlight the value of small, everyday choices and what really matters
Rome, Sept. 25, 2025 – Starbucks Italy announces that, starting Sept. 25, it will no longer charge extra for its four milk alternatives. Customers will be able to customize their beverage with oats, coconut, soy or almond for free, making the coffee shop experience more accessible and enjoyable for an increasingly broad audience.
The move to price parity is part of a commitment to rediscovering what has always set Starbucks apart: being able to customize your drink and make it unique is at the heart of the Starbucks Experience, as is being a welcoming place where people come together and where the best coffee is served, hand-prepared by expert baristas.
The initiative is supported by a multichannel advertising campaign entitled “Why pay more for what you love?” curated by renowned Lodi-based artist Pietro Terzini. Running from Sept. 25 to Oct. 26, the special design created by Terzini for Starbucks will appear on billboards and social media throughout Italy, amplifying the news through the artist’s own words.
The price parity, already available at most other Starbucks locations in EMEA, was unveiled today during an event at the Starbucks Flagship Store in Piazza San Silvestro, attended by Vincenzo Catrambone, general manager of Starbucks Italy.
This activity is part of Starbucks’ broader journey in making coffee shops community places and providing a welcoming experience for all customers, including the return of Sharpie markers for writing on glasses and reducing wait times.
Vincenzo Catrambone, general manager of Starbucks Italy, commented: “Starbucks and Percassi are proud to have introduced price parity in Italy, eliminating the surcharge for milk alternatives and making it easier than ever for our customers to customize their beverage and make it truly unique. Price parity also reinforces our role as a welcoming café, where people meet and enjoy the best coffee, handcrafted by our expert baristas. With four different milk alternatives available for free, coconut, oat, soy and almond, we make the Starbucks Experience more affordable and welcoming for everyone.”
Peter Terzini, artist and author of the campaign “Why pay more for what you love?” added, “I am very happy to be able to sign this campaign for Starbucks, a company that I love and that once again proves to be attentive to contemporary issues.”
The launch of the new campaign follows the recent multichannel brand campaign, the first in Italy, titled “Welcome to Starbucks.”
Information about the brand campaign:
Creative campaign “Why pay more for what you love?”: created by artist Pietro Terzini.
Media Strategy and Planning: by Spada Media Group
- Launch of multichannel media plan: on air from September 25 to October 26;
- Press: a selection of national newspapers in their local editions;
- Social Media: digital content on major web portals and social platforms, adapted and optimized for engagement with the Starbucks community and beyond;
- Out-Of-Home (OOH): activation campaign in several Italian cities to increase the visibility of the initiative.
