Category: food & nutrition

I’m a vegan with an intolerance to soy milk. The stuff makes my throat real itchy & sore every time I consume it. I can & do eat all types of other soy products all the time. Only the “milk” jacks me up.

This causes some issues for me because the majority of the coffee shops out there solely stock soy milk as their non dairy alternative.

There are plenty of alternative vegan creamers on the market, but my favorite to pair with espresso is almond milk.

Unfortunately, a quick check with all of the local coffee shops around my house revealed that no one carried almond milk. Weak sauce!

One of the coffee shops closest to my house is a Tully’s located inside a Fry’s grocery store. Determined to make good things happen near my home, I left a message for the manager requesting almond milk & asking for a call back.

A day or so later, the manager called me back to let me know that they were now stocking individual size servings of Silk brand almond milk in the mini fridge at Tully’s due to my request. Win!

She said they can only carry what is authorized by Tully’s corporate, but to make a customer out of me, she made a judgment call to start stocking it in the mini fridge as Fry’s already carried it on their shelves (the coffee shop is operated by Frys).

She also let me know that she tried out an almond milk latte to see what it was like and thought it was delicious!

After a few visits, I asked one of the employees if they were selling a lot of the almond milks & his response was “surprisingly yes”.

It’s also hella cheap! They charge me $1.90 for a double shot of espresso & $1.19 (often just $1 on sale) for the almond milk single, making my lattes a mere ~$3 each (with Frys card). On top of all that, every 5th drink is free (tracked via Frys card).

Score, score, score! So now I regularly get delicious almond milk lattes on the cheap, at a coffee spot right next to my house. #happywes

I’m quite proud of this little accomplishment that showcases a successful example of consumer demand. If you want something, make sure to ask for it! You just might get it.

As an aside, I first requested that a lil independently owned bagel shop/cafe start carrying almond milk as I prefer to support indy outfits. One of the owners responded by telling me “I haven’t seen the demand for it”. WTF, what do you call my request for you to start carrying it? Quite a fail on their part as it lost them a regular customer.

Have you tried an almond milk latte?