Starbucks has announced that it has selected Baxy as its new milk supplier because the milk products of its original milk supplier Mengniu were tainted by melamine.
Li Jing, Starbuck Greater China's general manager for public relations, has stated that the company is using whole milk products produced by Baxy in its cafes in the North China, Northeast China, Southwest China, and Central China areas and the milk supply in Beijing came from a local source.
Affected by the melamine scandal, Starbuck stopped supplying coffee products with milk from Mengniu in its 300 plus chain cafes across China from September 17, 2008 and sold coffee with soy milk instead. Originally offered as a short-term substitute, soy milk coffee will continue to be offered in the cafes in the future, according to the company.
However, local media reports have said that Starbucks was still not offering skim milk products and that Li has explained that this is because its new milk supplier, Baxy, does not produce skim milk and the company is currently looking for a skim milk supplier. The exact time for the recovery of the skim milk products is not available.
When asked whether Baxy will replace Mengniu as a long-term supplier for Starbucks, the company is reported to have stated that further evaluation would be needed.
