Business
From sweet treats to protein boosts, chains are banking on beverages to drive sales
If it feels like there are a lot of new drinks on restaurant menus, it’s because there are.
Driven by younger consumers who crave customized, cold beverages, chains from Dunkin’ to Dutch Bros, Starbucks and McDonald’s are answering the call.
The number of beverages offered by the top 500 chains has increased by more than 9% in the last year, according to Technomic’s 2025 Away-From-Home Beverage Navigator Report. Companies have leaned even more into cold drinks. Offerings like specialty coffees and energy drinks have seen the most growth on menus over the past two years, as hot coffee and tea beverages on menus decline, the market researcher reported in July.
What’s more, consumers are increasingly heading to a chain simply to get an iced coffee or soda. Last year, the primary driver for beverage sales was “getting a pick-me-up,” as 22% said that was their most common reason for going, up from 20% in 2023, the data found. Meanwhile, 20% said they bought a beverage to “wash down food.” The two occasions for a purchase switched places from the previous year.
“This shift suggests that consumers may be moving toward more beverage-specific occasions, where beverages are the main driver of the foodservice purchase rather than an add-on to go alongside food. This aligns with the influx of beverage-forward concepts in recent years,” the report said.
An employee delivers a drink to a customer outside a Dutch Bros. Coffee location in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.
Maranie Staab | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Higher drink sales are key for major players as they seek to reverse slumps in a tough consumer environment. McDonald’s U.S. restaurants saw same-store sales growth of 2.5% in its second fiscal quarter, reversing two straight quarters of domestic declines as it leaned into buzzy partnerships and value offerings. But executives cautioned low-income consumers remain challenged. While Starbucks also saw better than expected U.S. sales, they still fell 2% from the prior-year period.
Trying to capitalize on the desire for buzzy new drinks will bring its own challenges. Technomic forecasts beverage volume will grow 1% through 2029, but the group said it will likely revise that outlook lower. Customers are also more price sensitive, with 61% of consumers who said they noticed price hikes saying they order beverages less often.
What Gen Z wants
The success of many new beverage lines will hinge on Gen Z consumers, who have flocked to customized and sugary drinks.
Dunkin’ saw its colorful and sweet Refreshers platform hit new record highs in the most recent quarter, with unit sales up more than 30% year-on-year. It will release its fall menu later this week and lean further into what Gen Z consumers are seeking.
The rollout will feature an expansion of pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s Daydream Refresher lineup into Mango and Mixed Berry, along with a Cereal N’ Milk Latte, featuring a blend of espresso and real cereal milk that delivers a “nostalgic marshmallow cereal flavor.”
The curation of drinks is key for customers — and Gen Z consumers in particular, Dunkin’ Chief Marketing Officer Jill Nelson told CNBC. It has to feel unique and special in this environment.
“On the product side, it’s overwhelmingly about cold beverages, customization and bold flavor,” Nelson said.
“And then on the promotion side … when we think about Gen Z, this is a generation that grew up on sneaker drops and stories that disappear in 24 hours. So it’s all about how do you create new news and interesting flavor combinations that you can’t really recreate easily at home and feel like you’re in the know when you go to the drive through and order them,” she said, adding that the company prioritizes speed and accuracy as customers ask for more customization.
The competition will heat up next month as McDonald’s enters the beverage category in a more meaningful way. On Sept. 2, McDonald’s will launch an expanded market test in 500 restaurants across Wisconsin and Colorado of new drinks that include a “Creamy Vanilla Cold Brew” and “Toasted Vanilla Frappe.”
A worker hands a drink to a customer at a McDonald’s restaurant in Martinez, California, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In addition, the fast food giant will roll out “dirty sodas” and Strawberry Watermelon Refreshers, aimed at Gen Z consumers. McDonald’s created the lineup with learnings from its now-shuttered CosMc’s concept, which leaned heavily into customized drinks.
“We’re seeing real momentum in beverages, with more people – especially our Gen Z fans – turning to cold, flavorful drinks as a go-to treat,” said McDonald’s USA Chief Customer Experience and Marketing Officer Alyssa Buetikofer in a release.
On McDonald’s most recent earnings call, CEO Chris Kempczinski said beverages present a “big opportunity” for the brand.
“It’s growing and it’s more profitable than food. So, there’s a lot of things to like, which is why us as well as, I think, a few of our competitors are also excited about this,” Kempczinski told analysts. He added that while there are value offerings in the beverage space, you can get a lot of “full margin products” that franchisees would not have to discount.
The protein play
The new beverage options go beyond the sweet and bold. Chains also aim to win consumers by tapping into health trends.
An iced vanilla protein latte from Starbucks.
Courtesy: Starbucks
As Starbucks continues its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plans under CEO Brian Niccol, it is making more changes to the menu, including a late fourth-quarter launch of protein cold foam. On the company’s recent earnings call with analysts, Niccol said the item “taps into what has become one of our most popular modifiers, cold foam, which grew 23% year over year.”
“Protein Cold Foam with no added sugar is an easy way to add 15 grams of protein to virtually any cold beverage. And customers can also add the flavor of their choice,” he said.
The coffee giant said it’s seeing increases in satisfaction among younger consumers. Niccol told analysts customer value perceptions were near two-year highs in its most recent quarter, driven by gains among Gen Z and millennials, who make up over half of its customer base.
It’s betting that innovation, coupled with better customer service under its new “Green Apron Service” strategy, will help to boost business.
Coffee chain Dutch Bros has leaned into some of those beverage trends to drive strong growth. The chain has been a standout stock performer — up over 22% year-to-date — and saw its same-store sales increase more than 6% in the most recent quarter.
CEO Christine Barone said protein milk that launched in 2024 has boosted business. But more broadly, unique and surprising toppings and offerings are a way to engage in a tough competitive landscape, she added.
“I think the key with innovation is to really understand when something might be ready to pop, or something might be of high interest, and then be able to move really fast to execute on it well,” Barone told CNBC.
— CNBC’s Drew Troast contributed to this report
The Eli Lilly logo appears on the company’s office in San Diego, California, U.S., Nov. 21, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Eli Lilly on Monday said it is lowering the cash prices of single-dose vials of its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, building on efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the medicine more accessible.
The announcement also comes weeks after chief rival Novo Nordisk unveiled additional discounts on the cash prices of its obesity and diabetes drugs.
Starting Monday, cash-paying patients with a valid prescription can get the starting dose of Zepbound vials for as low as $299 per month on LillyDirect, down from a previous price of $349 per month. They can also access the next dose, 5 milligrams, for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month, down from $499 per month across those sizes.
Zepbound carries a list price of roughly $1,086 per month. That price point, and spotty insurance coverage for weight loss drugs in the U.S., have been significant barriers to access for some patients.
Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump inked deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make their GLP-1 drugs easier for Americans to get and afford. The agreements will cut the prices the government pays for the drugs, introduce Medicare coverage of obesity drugs for the first time for certain patients and offer discounted medicines on the government’s new direct-to-consumer website launching in January, TrumpRx.
But Eli Lilly’s deal with Trump centers around lowering the prices of a different form of Zepbound – a multi-dose pen – after it wins Food and Drug Administration approval.
That means Eli Lilly’s Monday announcement around cutting prices on the existing single-dose vials could allow more patients to get discounted treatments more quickly.
“We will keep working to provide more options — expanding choices for delivery devices and creating new pathways for access — so more people can get the medicines they need,” said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, in a statement.
Eli Lilly’s stock, which has climbed more than 36% this year, fell nearly 2% on Monday. Its meteoric rise due to the success of Zepbound and its diabetes injection Mounjaro vaulted it to becoming the first health-care company to hit a $1 trillion market value last month. Though cutting prices means lower revenue per medication sold, Eli Lilly’s sales — and shares — have continued to soar through past pricing announcements as demand balloons.
With single-dose vials, patients need to use a syringe and needle to draw up the medicine and inject it into themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced that form of Zepbound in August 2024.
It’s unclear how many patients are currently using single-dose vials of Zepbound. But Eli Lilly previously said that direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of new prescriptions of Zepbound.
Novo Nordisk earlier this month lowered the price of its obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic for existing cash-paying patients to $349 per month from $499 per month. That excludes the highest dose of Ozempic.
The company also launched a temporary introductory offer, which will allow new cash-paying patients to access the two lowest doses of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a fresh increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), raising the cost for both domestic consumers and commercial users.
According to the notification issued, the LPG price has been increased by Rs7.39 per kilogram, setting the new rate at Rs209 per kg for December. As a result, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder has risen by Rs87.21, bringing the new price to Rs2,466.10.
In November, the price of LPG stood at Rs201 per kg, while the domestic cylinder was priced at Rs2,378.89.
The latest price hike is expected to put additional pressure on households already grappling with rising living costs nationwide.
New Delhi: The taxable value of all supplies under GST surged by a robust 15 per cent during September-October this year, compared to the same period in 2024 due to sharp increase in consumption triggered by the tax rate cuts on goods across sectors that kicked in from September 22, according to official sources.
The growth in the same two-month period last year was 8.6 per cent. “This surge in taxable value during ‘Bachat Utsav’ demonstrates strong consumption uplift, stimulated by reduced rates and improved compliance behaviour,” a senior official said.
He pointed out that the growth has especially been strong in sectors where rate rationalisation was implemented, such as FMCG, pharma goods, food products, automobiles, medical devices and textiles. In these sectors, the taxable value of supplies has seen significantly higher growth, confirming that lower GST rates translated directly into higher consumer spending.
“It vindicates our strategy that reducing rates on essentials and mass-use sectors would create demand-side buoyancy — a Laffer Curve–type demand uplift,” he explained.These trends confirm that GST next-gen reforms have not disrupted revenue stability, and that consumption-side buoyancy has begun to translate into higher taxable value in key sectors.
This growth is in value terms which means that since GST rates were lower, the growth in volume terms will be even higher. It is clearly visible that while the Next Gen Reforms resulted in significant Bachat — increased consumption, industry has been very proactive in passing on the GST savings to the final consumers and ensuring that there is no supply side deficiency.
As GDP private consumption data will be released much later, GST taxable value serves as the most reliable real-time proxy for consumption, and the current numbers clearly indicate sustained demand expansion, the official added.
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Eli Lilly cuts cash prices of Zepbound weight loss drug vials on direct-to-consumer site
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