Cold coffee is driving sales, but cafés need to create unique, signature drinks

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Key takeaways

• Cold coffee, matcha, and refreshers are reshaping consumer demand.
• Younger consumers want drinks that reflect identity, not just taste and quality.
• Independent cafés can pivot faster than large quick-service chains.
• Operational efficiency and menu creativity must work together, not against each other.

Cold coffee, matcha, and refreshers have emerged as major sales drivers at chains and quick-service restaurants. Younger consumers, in particular, are drawn to their aesthetic appeal and customisation potential.

“The out-of-home beverage segment now entails many different things, sometimes all in the same day. Like cold brew in the morning, a functional antioxidant iced tea in the afternoon, and a protein-rich chai latte in the evening post-workout,” explains Gemma Kiernan, Head of Marketing at Marco Beverage Systems.

This demand for diversity is most prominent among Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers, who approach beverages with a fundamentally different mindset from their predecessors. They are open to new flavours and textures, with social media exposing them to emerging trends, particularly in East and Southeast Asia, almost instantaneously.

The appeal of cold beverages – whether coffee, matcha, refreshers (cold fruit-forward drinks designed as alternatives to sodas), teas, or lemonades – also lies in their inherent playfulness. Through texture, flavour, and colour, these drinks offer an indulgent experience that contrasts sharply with specialty coffee’s historically serious image. 

“During the third wave of coffee, the industry sometimes felt exclusive and even a little scientific; an approach that isn’t sustainable in an industry built on hospitality and community,” Gemma notes.

As quick-service restaurant giants and chains invest heavily in beverage-focused concepts, more independent cafés are innovating as well.

You may also like our article on why coffee shops should reevaluate their workflow.

Why are cold beverages so popular?

Looking ahead, customised cold coffee and non-coffee beverages, especially matcha and refreshers, will become even more important additions to café menus. In May 2025, Black Sheep Coffee reported a 227% year-over-year increase in iced beverage sales following the addition of matcha lattes and lemonades to its menu. 

Blank Street, another newcomer coffee giant, took a similar direction, rebranding around matcha by dropping “Coffee” from its name and shifting its colour scheme to a matcha-latte hue.

Today’s consumers, particularly younger ones, reject the notion that others should dictate what constitutes “good” coffee. Instead, they want to experiment with drinks that reflect their identity, mood, and experiences, and share those moments with their social networks, reinforcing the importance of originality.

“Customisation will continue to be a hugely important differentiator, but the real winners won’t be those who enable it at the expense of efficiency, speed, and quality,” Gemma says. “Instead, they will be those who seamlessly integrate customisation into a strong operation, while at the same time creating a unique and engaging experience for their customers.”

Big brands are betting on cold drinks

The entry of major quick-service restaurant chains into the premium beverage space signals how seriously big brands take this trend. Concepts like Daybright by Chick-fil-A, CosMc’s by McDonald’s, and investments by Yum Brands, KFC, and Luckin Coffee demonstrate that beverage innovation has mass appeal. 

Luckin, China’s biggest coffee chain, recently reported a 43% total net revenue increase for 2025. The company has scaled rapidly in both domestic and international markets, bringing its total global store count to over 31,000. Much of its success has revolved around value-focused drinks, hyper-customisation, and limited-time offerings. 

“These major brands recognise that people will pay more for an iced beverage because of perception, whether consumers think the drink is healthier, more fun, or tastier than the standard carbonated soft drinks traditionally available in quick service restaurants,” Gemma explains.

Starbucks is also banking on this growing demand. After launching a customisable Energy Refreshers line in April 2026, the chain reported higher-than-expected sales, particularly during later hours. To continue driving afternoon and evening visits, the brand is expanding Refreshers customisation options as part of a US$2bn beverage platform.

Unique drinks will drive sales

Major coffee brands have seen success with trending cold coffee drinks. Dunkin’, for example, partnered with US pop powerhouse Sabrina Carpenter in 2024 to promote its Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso drink, appealing directly to Gen Z’s proclivity for “little treat” culture.

Independent cafés, however, possess distinct advantages that enable further innovation in their drink design. “Cafés and smaller chains should realise that they have something a behemoth brand does not: the ability to pivot quickly, localise their offering, and engage with a community,” Gemma says.

Small coffee shops can test new drinks rapidly and receive immediate customer feedback – advantages that large chains can’t match. But to ensure profitability and engage meaningfully with consumers, coffee shops must create unique, customised cold drinks. 

Limited-time offerings and trending flavour combinations are both crucial for this strategy, allowing cafés to capture attention without permanently committing to extensive inventory changes.

“Imagine a café wants to add sparkling refreshers to its menu. Are they going to increase the orders of sparkling water bottles and ask baristas to use it as a base for a refresher?” Gemma asks. “This would not only drive up purchasing costs but also increase single-use-plastic consumption, giving the barista another job and ruining the experience for the customer.”

Investing in equipment

Equipment also plays an important role in successfully adapting to menu diversity. Marco Beverage Systems’ SYPP, launching in early Q3 2026, delivers a wide range of hot, ambient, chilled, and carbonated beverages from a single countertop dispense point.

Operators can connect four or eight concentrates or flavours, with options to add hot, cold, and sparkling water, creating a fully flexible and customisable beverage menu, including coffee, matcha, tea, lemonades, and refreshers. This capability opens up menu possibilities that would otherwise be logistically challenging or cost-prohibitive. 

The system also works with any concentrate, flavour, or alternative milk and can be used with accessory containers or other vessels such as bag-in-boxes, Tetra Paks, bottles, or urns. This compatibility means cafés can swap ingredients seasonally, taking advantage of limited-time flavours and emerging trends without adding operational complexity.

Addressing operational challenges

Cold coffee, matcha, and refreshers often come with customisation options, add-ons, and a wider range of ingredients than traditional drinks. This complexity can pose significant operational challenges and disrupt workflow, particularly in fast-paced service environments where consistency and speed are paramount.

Manual drink building can be difficult to control and ergonomically inefficient in practice. In cafés with high staff turnover, these challenges multiply, as training new team members to prepare custom drinks consistently becomes increasingly time-consuming and error-prone.

SYPP addresses these challenges by reducing the need for staff to manually build drinks. “Baristas can set up a range of base drinks, such as an iced latte and sparkling lemonade, and then enable additional flavour shots, replacing the traditional syrup pumps,” Gemma explains.

Marco Beverage Systems will exhibit at booth 6624 at World of Coffee Brussels from 25 to 27 June, demonstrating its full range of beverage dispensing systems.

“This means a barista can serve a tiramisu latte, perfectly dosed to the cup size, with the tap of a screen,” Gemma adds. “Cafés then have flexibility without depending on a barista to remember the recipes, pump the syrups by hand, or top up the drinks with sparkling water if required.”

SYPP’s volumetric dispense ensures only the exact ingredients required are used. In fast-paced service environments where staff turnover can be high, this capability becomes even more valuable, as SYPP enables operators to serve beverages consistently and quickly, reducing training time and minimising workflow disruption.

Cold coffee, matcha, and refreshers have proven their staying power, but success lies in creating signature versions that customers can’t find anywhere else, delivered with the quality and consistency that keeps them coming back. 

Independent cafés can compete with major chains while maintaining the community connection and agility that remain their greatest advantages.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how cold coffee beverages are changing.

Cold coffee and customised drinks FAQs

Why are cold beverages becoming so popular in cafés?

Gen Z and Gen Alpha treat drinks as an expression of identity, with social media accelerating exposure to new trends. Customisation and playfulness are key draws. Black Sheep Coffee reported a 227% year-over-year increase in iced beverage sales after adding matcha lattes and lemonades to its menu.

How can independent cafés compete with large chains on cold drinks?

Small cafés can move faster than large chains. They can test new drinks, gather feedback, and adjust menus quickly. Limited-time offerings and local flavours capture attention without large inventory commitments.

What operational challenges do complex cold drink menus create?

Multiple customisation options make drink-building difficult to standardise, especially where staff turnover is high. Equipment helps by pre-programming base drinks and flavour shots, ensuring consistent portions regardless of who is serving. This reduces training time and errors during busy periods.

Photo credits: Marco Beverage Systems

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Marco Beverage Systems is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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