Customers want more than coffee: Why customised drinks are set to get even more popular

Beverage customisation has long been part of the coffee industry. Adding syrups and sweeteners to drinks is common practice to create different flavours and textures. 

But amid a cost of living crisis, customisation has become a prominent way for coffee consumers to indulge while still getting value for their money. The novelty of a product is now just as important as the product itself, which means consumers want more than simply coffee – they are demanding an experience. Multiple ingredients that change the flavour, mouthfeel, and appearance of a drink cater to this in ways that black coffee or traditional milk-based options often can’t.

Big chains have been finding success with customised beverages for decades, and specialty coffee needs to follow in its footsteps if it wants to remain competitive. But with Starbucks’ new CEO recently announcing the company needs to speed up service, it’s clear that beverage customisation can impede good workflow.

To find out how specialty coffee brands can balance changing consumer preferences and efficiency, I spoke to Darleen Scherer, founder of Black Sheep, and Andrew Pautler, founder of Pull & Pour Coffee.

You may also like our article on how signature drinks help drive innovation in specialty coffee.

Value for money: Is coffee becoming more of an ingredient?

Now more than ever, there is a seemingly endless number of ways to customise coffee drinks. Customers can request additional or different ingredients that change the overall beverage, which can often mean that coffee is no longer the main focus. These include:

• Syrups and flavourings
• Plant milks (with oat in particular being a popular choice)
• Cream
• Functional ingredients, including medicinal mushrooms, turmeric, and collagen

Key players in the market are certainly driving the trend, and seeing a lot of success off the back of it. In July 2024, Starbucks UK announced that its iced drink range can be fully customised with four Cream Cold Foam flavour combinations. Customers can choose from Strawberry, Crème Brûlée, Matcha Cream, and Cookies & Cream Cream Cold Foams – a thick, meringue-like sweetened cream that sits on top of drinks.

First introduced in 2014 at the Seattle Reserve store, Starbucks’ cold foam has become one of its most popular menu options in recent years. The add-on allows customers to create more than 12 different iterations of cold brew drinks in US stores.

Social media has also been helping to boost the popularity of customisable beverages at chains like Starbucks. User-generated content on Instagram and TikTok offers an unlimited amount of cold coffee customisations and hacks, with “secret menu” posts showing aesthetic, trendy personalised beverages. For Starbucks and other large chains, this is effectively free marketing, and further drives interest in customised drinks.

The “cracked latte” is the latest viral trend. First, melted chocolate is poured on the inside of a takeaway cup. The chocolate is then left to harden in the freezer before the drink is added to the cup. The customer then squeezes the cup to “crack” the chocolate into shards – creating a more interactive beverage experience.

Why are these drinks so popular?

Growing interest in experiential drinks that offer something new and exciting largely stems from the fact that customers now want more value for their money. In the wake of higher costs of living, people still want to indulge, but drinks need to offer more than “just coffee”. Visual appeal is essential, with tactile and audible elements also becoming increasingly important, to create an all-round beverage experience.

Darleen Scherer is the founder of coffee consultancy Black Sheep. She has over two decades of experience in the coffee industry, and founded Gorilla Coffee and Supercrown Coffee Roasters in New York City.

“Customised drinks offer an experience that goes beyond the simple pleasure of black coffee,” she says. “They engage multiple senses – not just taste, but also sight, smell, and mouthfeel with different textures.

“Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, seek coffee experiences that reflect their individuality,” she adds. “They’re not just looking for caffeine, but a beverage that aligns with their taste preferences, dietary needs, and even their social media aesthetic. The rise of RTD coffee and non-traditional flavours is an indicator of this trend.”

Unlike millennials, who often prioritise wellness, Gen Z is more inclined to view food and drink as part of a balanced lifestyle that includes both healthy and indulgent options. The popularity of customised coffee drinks aligns with this trend, which could be rooted in “newstalgia”.

“We’re seeing the popularity of childhood flavours from the late 2000s and early 2010s with drinks like Cereal Milk Cold Brew, tapping into the nostalgia of Saturday morning cartoons and sugary cereals,” Darleen says. “These drinks are infused with house-made syrups to mimic the milk flavour left at the bottom of a cereal bowl, with Fruit Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Cocoa Puffs being popular options.”

Specialty coffee needs to adapt to changing consumer preferences

Although it’s been a part of specialty coffee since its inception, beverage customisation is clearly having more of an influence on the industry. The cracked latte is appearing on more café menus, while popular specialty coffee content creators like Morgan Eckroth post cereal milk latte recipes that generate tens of thousands of likes.

Given their rising popularity, it makes sense that specialty coffee should embrace beverage customisation to keep up with emerging trends.

Andrew Pautler is the founder of specialty coffee content blog Pull & Pour Coffee, which often posts signature drink recipes.

“Customisation attracts new customers that are potentially turned off by black coffee,” he says. “The creative side of pairing flavours with coffee – especially ones that normally wouldn’t work – is exciting. It’s like a bartender creating a new cocktail.

“Customised beverages can be a gateway into specialty coffee for someone who is more comfortable with Starbucks or similar brands,” he adds. 

For some specialty coffee shops, there may be a concern that highly customised beverages are a distraction from pure coffee flavour and quality – hallmarks of specialty coffee. But Andrew points out that cafés can offer both.

“On one hand, offering more unique and diverse drinks expands the potential customers you appeal to, but it’s also true that new processing and fermentation methods are expanding what specialty coffee tastes like,” he tells me. “I don’t think it’s an ‘either/or’ situation, but ‘a both/and’ instead. Having fun specialty coffee drink options doesn’t mean you can’t also offer a solid lineup of single origin pour overs.”

Darleen agrees, saying: “Customisation isn’t necessarily a move away from quality. Rather, it’s an expansion of what quality means in coffee. It now includes not just the purity of coffee flavour, but also the creativity of the overall beverage experience.”

Impact on service

Offering more customisation options inevitably means coffee shops can cater to a wider range of consumer preferences. But it also poses a number of operational challenges that can impede workflow and service.

Stocking more ingredients can take up valuable counter and storage space, and baristas will be slowed down when preparing highly customised beverages. In a time when food and energy costs still remain high, business operators have to prioritise efficiency as much as possible.

We only need to look at Starbucks to see how overly customised beverages can harm coffee shop service. In a recent statement, new CEO Brian Niccol cited long and “hectic” wait times, “transactional” customer service, and “overwhelming” menus as pressing issues. It’s evident that burdensome mobile ordering and endless customisation options are harming sales and store performance, especially in the US and China.

Balancing customisation with effiency

At the same time, cafés still need to adapt to what consumers want while prioritising their business needs and values.

“Specialty coffee shops need to be prepared for higher volumes and more complex orders, but the key is to design a menu that allows for customisation within defined parameters,” Darleen suggests. “For instance, offering a selection of house-made syrups and plant milks can provide plenty of options without overwhelming staff or slowing down service.

“You can use technology to streamline ordering and preparation processes,” she adds. “Creating signature drinks that already incorporate popular customisations also reduces the need for complicated modifications.”

Price-conscious consumers want more value for money, spurring interest in customised beverages. But adding these drinks to menus will inevitably impact workflow and service.

“Ultimately, the goal should be to find a balance between offering personalised experiences that consumers crave and maintaining operational efficiency,” Darleen concludes. “It’s a challenge, but one that innovative coffee shops can certainly overcome.”

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why coffee shops need to balance convenience and hospitality.

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