Taste of the Tropics
Starbucks continues to lead with its Refresher range, playing on tropical and fruit-forward flavours such as the Dragon Fruit Refresher and Dragon Fruit & Mango Cooler. This growing demand for vibrant, refreshing drinks can be easily met with solutions like Simply Dragon Fruit and Mango Cooler, designed to deliver this popular flavour pairing on your menu.
Alongside this, drinks such as Peach Iced Tea & Strawberry Boba, Tropical Cooler & Mango Boba, Pink Lemonade Cooler & Strawberry Boba, and Watermelon Iced Tea & Mango Boba highlight the shift towards bold, fruit-led combinations. Operators can recreate these trending serves using Simply Tropical Cooler, Simply Pink Lemonade Cooler, and Simply Watermelon & Iced Green Tea Syrup, making it simple to build a versatile drinks offering.
There is also a clear focus on customisation, with the option to add boba to any cooler or iced tea to create a more personalised serve. With Simply Popping Boba in mango or strawberry flavours, it’s easy to add texture, flavour, and visual appeal across a wide range of drinks.
In the US, Starbucks launched its Summer Skies range, combining raspberry boba, coconut milk and berry flavours, reinforcing the shift towards layered drinks with added texture and strong visual presentation.
Younger consumers are increasingly seeking bold tropical combinations, with 75% expressing interest in trying these flavours. We are seeing emerging ingredients such as dragon fruit, yuzu, and lychee gaining traction alongside core tropical staples like mango, passion fruit, and pineapple.
Dragon fruit alone has seen significant growth, increasing by 26% over the past five years, with nearly 60% of consumers now showing interest. These flavour profiles also lend themselves to more imaginative, ‘fantasy’ concepts such as Tropical Breeze and Beach Dreams, allowing customers to form their own expectations and experiences around the drink.
Pistachio is Prospering
Pistachio could be seen everywhere moving forward, and this will continue to grow. Tastewise showed that conversations about pistachios grew by 10% in the past year, along with a 15% increase in interest in pistachio as an ingredient.
Pistachio’s vibrant colour adds a visual pop to any drink, making it a strong choice for both presentation and flavour. This has helped it become increasingly visible across menus.
The pistachio market is projected to increase significantly, reaching multi-million status by 2027. It has recently made its way onto some of the biggest UK menus, including Caffè Nero, Blank Street, and Black Sheep Coffee.
The availability of syrup and topping sauces is also supporting this growth, making it easier to incorporate pistachio into a wide range of drinks.
A Matcha Made in Heaven
Matcha tea’s popularity has grown rapidly in the UK and is now the fastest growing tea globally. In 2023, matcha drinks saw a huge 202% increase in sales, with its popularity partly driven by social media, where there are over 8 million tags on Instagram.
The matcha market rose by 10.3% from 2023 to 2024 and is expected to grow a further 10.7% annually by 2028. The global market is expected to reach over £5.3 billion by 2033.
Drinks such as Black Sheep Coffee’s Blueberry Matcha Iced Latte, which uses blueberry syrup, spirulina and matcha, show how presentation and layered ingredients are becoming just as important as flavour.
What Coffee Chains Are Doing
Seasonal menus continue to shape what drinks are in demand, with major brands adapting their ranges to reflect current flavour trends.
Spring flavours at Starbucks include Iced Cherry Chai, Snoopy Joe Kind Frappe, Lavender Velvet Latte, Iced Lavender Latte, Iced Lavender Matcha, and Lavender Cream Frappe.
Costa Coffee is offering Cinnamon Bun, Chocolate & Pistachio Cookie, White Chocolate & Caramel, and Whipped Iced Latte.
Caffè Nero’s spring range includes Honey Oat Latte, Pistachio Iced Latte, Tiramisu Iced Latte, Caramel Iced Latte, and Strawberry & Vanilla Matcha.
Summer flavours at Starbucks include Melon Pearl Refresher, Frozen Dragonfruit Refresher, Pink Coconut Refresher, Cool Lime Refresher, and Dragon Coconut Refresher.
Costa Coffee’s summer range includes Tiramisu, Vanilla Lavender Iced Whipped Latte, Dragon Fruit & Guava Refresher, Strawberry, Watermelon & Mint Refresher, and Pistachio Latte.
Caffè Nero is offering Vanilla Iced Matcha, Strawberry & Vanilla Iced Matcha, Strawberry & Sicilian Lemon Spritz, Tiramisu Iced Latte, and Mango & Passionfruit Booster.
Conclusion
The direction of the drinks industry is clear, with tropical flavours, pistachio, and matcha shaping what is appearing on menus. Seasonal launches from major coffee chains show how these trends are being applied, giving a clear indication of what will continue to develop across the market.