Beverage Trends

Trend 4: Coffee’s Cold Rush
Trend 5: Healthful Hydration
Trend 6: Fresh New Beverage Flavors

_{TREND 4}

Coffee’s Cold Rush

Coffee enters the ice age as more consumers reach for specialty drinks that are cold, bold, icy, slushy, and strong.

Why it matters
Chill out with this fact: Some chains report that up to 75% of beverage sales are iced drinks, a trend with no signs of slowing. Best part? So far, it doesn’t appear to cannibalize hot coffee sales and often leads to bigger spends.

With nearly two-thirds of Americans over age 18 grabbing a daily dose of coffee, sales remain solid across all industry segments. It’s fair to say, though, that things are cooling off in the best possible way with a big bump up coming from iced coffee. Younger consumers especially show high interest, regardless of the season. In keeping with their ‘dare to be different’ approach to life as well as food and beverage choices, they show strong interest in iced, slushy, cold-brewed, and customized. Noting that sales of cold coffee beverages are up 23% since 2021, the American National Coffee Association predicts growth to meet or exceed that number.

SOCIALIZED LEARNING
49% of Gen Z consumers learn about coffee trends, topics, and culture from online sources such as TikTok rather than from coffee chains.

Variety of form and of flavor is the big driver in these made-to-order must-haves as consumers gravitate to seemingly endless ‘have-it-your-way’ scenarios. Syrups, sweeteners, spices, dairy, alt-milks, shaken or blended, slushy, creamy, foamy, brewing method, and garnishes are all part of the smorgasbord of choices. When grab-and-go convenience counts, younger consumers also show strong affinity for ready-to-drink coffee beverages and cold brew.

Seen on Menus

Red Chili Mocha Java Freeze
Banana Cold Brew Latte with Warm Spices, Banana Chips, and Cocoa
Lavender White Chocolate
Sparkling Coffee and Orange Juice
Proffee with Brewed Coffee and Protein Powder
Iced French Toast Latte
Pumpkin Spice Frozen Latte
Pink Velvet Iced Macchiato
Iced Golden Caffe Latte
Snowcap Peppermint Cold Brew

HOT STUFF
Perking up on the hot side of things: bolder blends, flat whites, macchiatos, white coffee, and cortados are in position to move from fringes to mainstream.

NEXT UP: Healthful Hydration

_{TREND 5}

Healthful Hydration

Cleaner, clearer, fresher beverage options, often served with a side of functional, widen their audience.

What it means
Consumption patterns and habits often vary among age demographic groups although for beverages viewed as ‘good for you,’ Alphas, Boomers, and everyone in between share the love. Interest in these ‘Here’s to your health’ drinks is expected to continue and so is willingness to pay more for them.

Sure, beverages are chosen to refresh and slake thirst but for a growing body of consumers across all age groups, so-called ‘clean’ formulations and additional nutrient-dense enhancements have heightening appeal. The trend, which plays out in many industry segments, is especially strong on college campuses and in fast casuals, QSRs, and c-stores where Gen Zs and Alphas are drawn to them.

From fermentation and botanicals, prebiotics and probiotics, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, calming ingredients, and those said to help keep minds sharp and emotions calm, these enhanced liquid assets are looked to as important players in wellness lifestyles.

Along with the positive physical effects of functional beverages, 45% of consumers use energy drinks to help maintain focus.

They’re reading label claims and ingredient lists, too, with 75% of consumers being more deliberate in assessing products in order to make better choices. Product traits and values they look for include:

Clean label/natural ingredients
Nutritional information on labels
Health claims such as digestive health and mental acuity
Sugar—reduced or no added sugar
No additives or artificial ingredients
Organic
Sustainability and environmental claims

Plant-based choices are being made in the beverage category, too, with growth projected to continue for alt-milks. Expected to join the lineup: milks from quinoa, hemp, spelt, millet, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts, and sunflower seeds.

Functional Beverage Market

42%

Amount of U.S. adults who like their food and drink to contribute to both mental and physical health

NEXT UP: Fresh New Beverage Flavors

_{TREND 6}

Fresh New Beverage Flavors

Thirsty for fruit-based and fruit-flavored beverages that are new, approachable, even a little exotic, consumers look to fresh tastes from Asia and tropical islands.

What it means
With eye-candy colors, flavor flashes of exoticism, and the underlying suggestion that fruit beverages deliver functional benefits, new drink flavors offer multisensory taste experiences that engage consumer interest.

In terms of business-building opportunity, juice-based beverages are almost in a class by themselves, positioned as strong-margin meal upsells, between-daypart treats, and essential building blocks for mixology.

Familiar fruits and berries continue to be reliably strong sellers, with category growth coming via product introductions. Reflective of high interest in global ingredients, these new flavors offer the type of “delicious escapism” that grabs the attention of thrill-seeking consumers.

39%

Amount of consumers who choose beverages as a way to treat themselves

Menu scanning makes it easy to spot a nearly universal go-to-market strategy: Juice blends proliferate, a partnering of newer, less-familiar offerings with time-proven ingredients; this makes it easier for consumers to make purchasing decisions and also helps moderate higher food costs carried by the newer offerings. A recent lineup at one beverage chain included three lemonades: strawberry acai, pineapple-passion fruit, and mango-dragon fruit, each a balanced blend of classic favs and new sensations.

Among the Asian and tropical fruit flavors just beginning to filter into the foodservice market, according to Datassential, are lemongrass, lychee, soursop, tamarind, and yuzu. Penetrating even further onto menus: acai, blood orange, coconut water, dragon fruit, ginger, guava, papaya, passion fruit, and tart cherry. Other juices adding fresh fillips: calamansi, kaffir lime/makrut, pennywort, satsuma, sudachi, and ube.

Fresh Piqued Interest

_{^{Sources–Trend 4:}}_{^{The Most Surprising Coffee Drinking Statistics and Trends in 2023 (March 23, 2023); Does Anyone Drink Hot Coffee Anymore? (September 8, 2022); 2023 Trend Report: Millennials and Gen Z Are Driving These Six Coffee Trends (undated); Will Traditional Coffee Shops Die Out with Gen Z? (March 2, 2023); 2023 State of the Beverage Industry (July 6, 2023); Datassential Report Pro (August 2023).}}_{^{Trend 5:}}_{^{78% of Consumers Will Pay More for Clean Label, Natural Claims Despite Inflation (February 21, 2023); Consumers Demand Functional Beverages (May 1, 2023); Maximize Brand Value By Formulating for 2023 Consumer Food Preferences (undated); 2023 Food and Beverage Flavor Trend Report (undated); Functional Beverages Market Size & Share Analysis, Growth Trends & Forecasts (undated).}}_{^{Trend 6:}}_{^{Top 3 Global Flavor Beverage Trends for 2023 (undated) trackmind.com; Datassential Snap, Juice Trends (data pulled 2023); Ice Cream Trendspotting (January 25, 2022); Food and Beverage Flavor Trend Report (undated).}}