In the previous post, we’ve looked at the costs of a cup of café latte. Today, we shall explore that of a cup of soy latte!
Soy milk VS regular milk
Here’s what goes into a cup of soy latte
The recipe of a soy latte is exactly the same as that for a latte, except that regular milk is replaced by soy milk!
According to this study, it concluded that 157.9L of water is required to produce 1L of soy milk. That translates to a loss of 31.58L of water when 200ml of soy milk is used. In total, a cup of soy latte will thus waste 2.97L + 31.58L = 34.55L of water. Let’s compare that to a cup of latte.
A cup of soy latte uses approximately 44% of water used in producing a cup of latte!
As such, we can conclude that soy latte has a lower environmental cost than regular latte.
However, did you realise that soy latte is often priced higher at cafés?
My café charges customers $5 for a cup of latte and an extra $1 for soy latte.
Spot the additional price for soy milk! (Source: https://www.breadhearth.com/homepage)
Why is soy latte charged at a higher price than regular latte, when it has a lower environmental cost than the latter?
To find out more, I decided to research on the possible reasons why. Unfortunately, there weren’t many scholarly articles on this issue. However, many people were discussing about the possible reasons online. I came across two theories and felt that it was worth mentioning them here. The community manager of an online discussion platform, Seedly, hypothesised that the higher charge for soy milk may be due to marketing strategies that present soy milk as being healthier. This is a valid reason, as soy milk is often advertised as being lower in calories while still having the same protein content as that in cow’s milk. Also, as compared to cow’s milk, soy milk is much lower in fat content. As such, businesses ride on the health benefits of soy milk, and charge health conscious consumers a higher price, in order to earn more.
Another hypothesis was that there is a perception of using soy milk in coffee as a ‘special order’, which translates to a higher price charged. This is true as many cafés use cow’s milk by default in coffees. Ordering a soy latte thus creates the idea that there is extra work done to prepare the cup of coffee. As such businesses take this opportunity to list soy milk as an ‘add-on/extra’ in menus, to charge a higher price for a cup of soy latte.
From these two hypotheses, it can be seen that the higher price of soy latte is often related to marketing strategies that businesses employ. These reasons may be sound for businesses to gain more profit. However, they are not ideal in the perspective of environmentalists. Shouldn’t soy lattes be charged at a price lower than or equal to that of a regular latte so that consumers are more willing to adopt environmentally friendly choices?
One day, a customer asked ‘Hi, can I get a latte with soya… soya sauce?’ We both laughed ><
Jeng Wei October 17, 2020
Hi Jo!
I’m not much of a coffee drinker myself, but it was still shocking to find out about the costs of each cup of latte by reading your 2 latest pots. I decided to do a little bit of poking around, and found that the soy milk you showed in the picture (the Pacific Foods one) costs $6.55 for ~1L (https://www.fairprice.com.sg/product/pacific-soy-non-dairy-original-beverage-946ml-12424978), whereas a more common brand like NutriSoy costs $2.55 for 1L (https://www.fairprice.com.sg/product/f-n-nutrisoy-fresh-soya-milk-high-calcium-reduced-sugar-1l-10553397). I know next to nothing about food preparation or choice of ingredients, so I’m just curious as to why the cheaper option isn’t used? Are there inherent differences between the 2, such that only the one by Pacific Foods is suitable, or are they similar enough to be good substitutes, but just that Pacific Foods is preferred?
Also, I wonder if things might be done to adjust the prices of soy milk, given that it seems to be overall better than dairy milk, in terms of health and costs, but is seemingly overpriced (e.g. government intervention). I’m not too sure about where Singapore gets her soybeans/soy milk from, but it seems as though Brazil is one of the biggest exporters in the world (https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/21201/#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20countries%20that,%2C%20and%20Ukraine%20(%24866M). I’m not too sure, but perhaps that is another reason why soy milk is more expensive, due to the greater cost (environmental cost too) needed to import, and hence the need to internalize that cost in terms of higher prices. Regardless, these 2 posts were definitely eye-opening, and I look forward to your future posts!
Cheers!
Jeng Wei
jolee2001 October 18, 2020 — Post Author
Hello Jeng Wei!
Thank you for dropping by 🙂 The main reason for choosing the Pacific Foods soy milk is because it is slightly creamier and thicker than normal soy milk. Its consistency helps it achieve a texture close to dairy milk. Whereas for the Nutrisoy soy milk, it has a more watery texture. When these different soy milks are frothed, the Pacific Foods soy milk will produce a more proportionate foam to milk ratio than the Nutrisoy soy milk. Also, soy milk is lower in fat and sugar levels than cow’s milk, and has a lower heat resistance. As such, this makes it harder to produce a smooth layer of foam when frothing soy milk. However, there are products manufactured specially to be able to withstand higher heat than normal soy milk (You can check this website out, it’s pretty cool and easy to read!). The Pacific Foods soy milk is a great example! As such, considering the creaminess and heat resistance, the Pacific Foods soy milk is used instead of the Nutrisoy soy milk 🙂 I went to the NTUC website to search for other barista soy milk and found a few alternatives brands like Alpro, Lactasoy and OraSi. Out of all of them, the Pacific Foods brand is the most expensive, at $6.92 (it costs $6.55 for 946ml) for 1L of soy milk! I’m not sure why my cafe chose the Pacific Foods brand over others, but I assume its because this brand of soy milk produces the best consistency when frothed!
I think its highly likely that soy milk is more expensive as our soy beans (assuming most soy beans are used to produce soy milk) are mainly imported. In 2018, we imported a net weight of 21,027,029kg of soy beans, while we only exported 218,190kg. That’s about 96 times more soy bean imports than exports >< Whereas for milk, the imports were only about 2 times more than the exports. Since our imports of soy beans are much more than the exports, it is likely that soy milk is charged higher to cover the costs of imports. Thanks for bringing up this point, which drove me to find out more about the possible reasons as to why soy milk may be more expensive!
I’m glad you enjoyed reading my posts and hope to see you back again!
– Jo
Joseph Wee October 21, 2020
Hi Jo!
I’m not much of a fan of soy milk and seeing the added cost of soy milk in a latte is a big enough deterrent to steer me away from it!
I have noticed that other soy products are very similar with regards to their cost. Take impossible burger for example. This imitation meat patty uses soy protein and taste quite similar to its meat counterpart! However, the cheapest burger will set you back $16!
I wonder if there is a way to make these sustainability products more affordable. I think their premise is admirable, but their high cost can be a bit of a put off. What are your views on this?
Thanks!
Joseph
jolee2001 October 22, 2020 — Post Author
Hello Joseph!
I agree with you that the price of these sustainable products aren’t always that affordable! I do think these products are commendable, but they may be a little on the expensive end. However, the reasons for their high price are unavoidable. I’ve done a quick search online as to why sustainable products are much more expensive, and this post is a really great summary of what I was looking for! It mentioned that environmentally friendly goods are more expensive as changes have to be made at source and during the processing phase. That means in the agriculture scene where pesticides and chemicals are not used to grow crops, workers have to place more effort in clearing the weeds, ensuring that crops are pest-free. Also, extra time and money is wasted during the processing phase, to ensure that the facilities used in producing green goods are not used to produce other conventional goods as well. These two reasons lead to a higher cost of production and hence higher price for consumers. Furthermore, there is a relatively low demand for eco-friendly goods, which naturally leads to a higher price (some economics going on here ><).
Though these products may be priced on the higher end now, there is a chance that they will become more affordable in the future. I believe that with the rise of environmentalism and the need to live more sustainably, more and more people will be willing to accept these eco-friendly products. When the demand for these products increase, we may see more affordable products in the future! Unfortunately, this may be the best solution in making sustainable products more affordable (we have to wait:().
– Jo