Chasing trends at any cost can be risky for roasters

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Key takeaways

• Not every coffee trend is worth the R&D investment and supply chain commitment.
• Trends should align with a roaster’s existing values, not replace them.
• Roaster size and market shape how well trends actually pay off.
• Limited-time releases are a lower-risk way for smaller roasters to test market appetite.

Gen Z’s appetite for customised, colourful, and convenient drinks has reshaped coffee significantly over the past few years. Cold foam, ready-to-drink (RTD) formats, functional ingredients, protein add-ons, and matcha are now staples of mainstream café culture. 

Capitalising on trends promises coffee roasters relevance and new revenue streams in an increasingly competitive market. These new categories meet real needs: matcha offers caffeine without the crash, RTD is convenience without compromise, and protein and functional ingredients provide nutritional benefits.

But tapping into trends also increases costs and carries significant risk. The challenge is that trends move quickly, and the gap between consumer enthusiasm and return on investment can be significant.

“Does the trend serve your customer, or does it just excite you?,” asks Darleen Scherer, founder and CEO of coffee consultancy Black Sheep. “Those are two very different things. A lot of roasters see something gaining traction online and assume it belongs in their lineup. A trend that’s right for the market, however, isn’t automatically right for your brand.”

You may also like our article on coffee shop trends to watch out for in 2026.

Trends are fleeting – roasters should be selective

In the highly competitive coffee market, trends signal relevance, particularly among a younger audience predicted to hold US$12 trillion in spending power by 2030.

Matcha is arguably the best example. Once reserved for Japanese tea ceremonies, it’s now a shorthand for wellness, aesthetics, and self-expression. Chains like Blank Street have built an estimated US$1bn brand on Instagramable seasonal matcha drops.

The appeal is clear: trends promise new revenue streams and an engaged young audience. But they also come at a cost. A roaster that commits to expensive R&D, new equipment, or specialist supply chains to meet a trend may find, a year later, that the moment has passed. 

“Research publications and industry conferences often lag consumer behaviour by years,” Darleen says. “By the time a trend gets the panel discussion treatment at World of Coffee, challenger brands have already captured the early adopters.”

Dubai chocolate is a case in point. The chocolate, pistachio, tahini, and knafeh treat exploded in popularity in late 2023, but pistachio supply shortages and cheap, low-quality iterations have resulted in consumer fatigue. 

In this context, roasters who build around trends risk not only wasting investment but also alienating their existing audience by appearing to chase novelty rather than quality.

“The filter that matters most is execution: can you do this in a way that’s authentically yours? A trend that requires you to compromise your sourcing philosophy, confuse your baristas, or launch a product your team can’t stand behind isn’t worth the R&D spend,” Darleen explains. “The brands that profit from trends find the intersection between what’s culturally gaining momentum and what they already do well.”

The core question is then whether a trend is compatible with a roaster’s values and likely to persist long enough to justify the resources required.

Values come first

A roaster’s size and the market it operates in shape how well trends pay off. A small brand in a fragmented market like Europe will struggle to compete with a larger US brand, for example, backed by vast distribution networks.

Some roasters have concluded that the answer is simply not to follow trends at all. At a time when co-ferments and heavily processed “funky” coffees are appearing on more menus, roasters like Tim Wendelboe maintain a deliberately narrow focus on washed and clean honey-processed coffees.

Others have found ways to engage with trends without compromising their principles. Rather than simply releasing cold brew or iced coffee products, Square Mile developed two blends, Choc Ice and Fruit Punch, roasted specifically for cold and iced-drink applications. The approach acknowledges a shift in how consumers are drinking coffee while creating a product with clear intent.

Onyx Coffee Lab has taken a comparable approach with its Café Expressions RTD range. The concentrates are designed with the same attention to sourcing and processing that Onyx brings to its whole-bean range, but in a more convenient format.

The mistake most roasters make is positioning the new product as a departure,” Darleen says. “They say ‘we’re evolving’ or ‘we’re expanding our vision,’ and their traditional customers hear ‘we’re becoming something different.’ That’s threatening, not reassuring. 

“The more effective approach anchors the new product in values that already exist,” Darleen adds. “Functional coffee, for instance, isn’t inherently at odds with a commitment to quality sourcing. If your brand has always been about making coffee that serves the people who drink it, then a product that addresses a specific health need is a natural extension of that belief.”

Experimentation over commitment

Whichever trends a roaster chooses to explore, consistency in core products has to remain the foundation. A loyal customer base is built on the expectation that a roaster’s staple offerings will be of the same quality each time. 

Darleen explains that experimenting with trends as limited-time or seasonal releases is a lower-risk way to test appetite without shaking this foundation.

“If the limited release sold through faster than your core products and generated meaningful repeat business, that tells you something real about demand,” she says. “I’ve worked with clients who had a seasonal release that outsold their signature blend, and their instinct was to make it permanent immediately.

“When we looked closely, the product was pulling in a customer who didn’t share any of the values the brand was built on,” she adds. “Making it permanent would have quietly shifted the brand’s identity to accommodate a new audience. Sometimes that’s the right move, but you have to decide it consciously.”

Are some trends worth chasing?

It’s worth being clear about the purpose of trend engagement. Although it may appeal to the masses, treating it as such is likely to produce undifferentiated products that leave most consumers dissatisfied. 

The more productive framing is that a well-executed, trend-adjacent release can introduce a roaster to consumers who might not otherwise have encountered their brand.

Given its extensive presence in supermarkets and grocery retailers, the RTD category warrants serious consideration in this context. The global RTD coffee market is expected to hit nearly US$53bn in 2034, so for roasters with the capacity and quality standards to enter this space, the case for sustained investment is stronger than for most other current trends.

“Start with your audience,” Darleen advises. “If mushroom coffee is surging but your customers are wholesale accounts buying for office environments, the overlap is probably thin. If you’re DTC and skewing toward wellness-oriented consumers, that opens a different conversation.”

The roasters who navigate a changing coffee landscape well tend to be the ones who define their own terms first. They know their values, understand their audience, and evaluate trends against both rather than chasing relevance.

“The language that works best is ‘here’s why this makes sense for us,’ not ‘here’s what’s new.’ Tell customers what drove the decision,” Darleen concludes. “Be specific about who it’s for. And if it’s not for your core customer, say so honestly.”

If you’re interested in increasing your sales & acquiring more leads, check out PDG Media, our sister marketing agency dedicated to specialty coffee.

Coffee trends FAQs

How should a coffee roaster decide which trends to follow?

Start by asking whether the trend aligns with existing values and audience. If it requires compromising quality or confusing brand positioning, the investment is unlikely to pay off.

What’s the safest way to test a new trend?
Seasonal or limited-time releases let roasters gauge real demand without disrupting core products. If a release outsells signature blends and brings repeat business, this signals genuine appetite worth exploring further.

Why do some trend-led products fail?
Many roasters frame new products as a departure from their identity, which unsettles loyal customers. Success comes from anchoring trends in values the brand already holds, so the product feels like a natural extension.

Photo credits: Square Mile, Onyx Coffee Lab

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