More fast-food chains adopt fun, flavored drinks
Chick-fil-A pineapple dragonfruit beverages.
Courtesy: Chick-fil-A
Fast-food chains are going all in on fun beverages to attract younger consumers.
Chick-fil-A, known for its straightforward menu of fried chicken and waffle fries, is selling seasonal Pineapple Dragonfruit drinks. Yum Brands’ Taco Bell installed a beverage concept called Live Mas Café inside one of its California locations. McDonald’s is in its second year of testing its drinks-focused spinoff, CosMc’s.
Restaurant operators are betting that drinks with exotic flavors, bright colors and high caffeine and sugar counts will mean higher sales — and better margins.
Fast-food chains are increasingly adding beverage options and widening the number of items within that segment. Refreshers and agua frescas are increasingly showing up on menus, while fast-food chains expand their specialty iced coffee, hot chocolate and energy drink options, according to market research firm Datassential.
Fast-food chains’ recent focus on drinks mirrors the broader restaurant industry as the number of beverage-focused concepts climbs. More regional coffee shops are coming for Starbucks’ crown. Plus, consumers have embraced buying drinks beyond coffee, such as bubble tea and “dirty soda,” the Utah trend of adding syrups, creamers and juice to soda that has spread nationwide.
More and more full-scale establishments are basing their entire businesses on the growing segment. Beverage chains Swig, 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee and Gong Cha are among the 10 fastest-growing quick-service restaurant chains by sales, according to restaurant market research firm Technomic.
The trend also follows the decadeslong decline in soda consumption since its peak in 2000.
“As the consumer moves away from the traditional soda, there’s an opportunity for operators and different brands to bring something signature to the table that is more in line with their brand in certain instances, but also an opportunity to potentially charge a little more,” said Michael Parlapiano, managing director of the Culinary Edge, a consulting firm that has helped Noodles & Company, McDonald’s and First Watch on menu offerings.
Attracting Gen Z
Restaurants are hoping hot chocolate and flavored lemonades can help build loyalty with Gen Z consumers.
Compared to previous generations, Gen Z is the most open to new flavors and comes from the most diverse backgrounds. Gen Z’s openness gives fast-food chains more latitude to explore more unusual offerings, such as butterfly pea or ube, according to Parlapiano. Monin, a French company best known for its flavored syrups, tapped yuzu, an East Asian citrus fruit, as its flavor of the year for 2025.
Traditionally, large fast-food chains are less likely to experiment with such audacious flavors, but even they have stepped outside of their comfort zones. For example, Wendy’s current lemonade lineup includes blueberry pomegranate and pineapple mango — two choices that have paid off for the burger giant.
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