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
Business
‘Indians been good actors’: Why US ‘agreed to let’ India resume buying Russian oil temporarily – The Times of India
The United States has given “permission” to India to buy Russian oil already stranded at sea issuing a temporary waiver aimed at stabilising global oil supplies amid disruptions caused by the escalating conflict in West Asia.US President Donald Trump’s aide Scott Bessent referred to India as a “very good actor” for previously complying with Washington’s request to halt purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and said the temporary measure would help ease supply pressures in the global market.
The move comes a day after Washington issued a 30-day waiver permitting the sale of Russian crude currently stranded at sea to continue to India.
US cites temporary supply concerns
Speaking to Fox Business, US treasury secretary Bessent said the decision was intended to ease short-term supply constraints during the ongoing crisis.“The world is very well supplied in oil. The Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” Bessent said.“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil,” he said.“But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he added.Bessent also noted that a large volume of sanctioned crude remains stranded at sea stating that, “There are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of sanctioned crude on the water,” he said, adding that “by unsanctioning them, Treasury can create supply.”“And we are looking at that. We are going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict,” he added.
‘Short term measures to help keep oil prices down’
Other officials in the Trump administration have also confirmed that Washington has “permitted” India to buy Russian crude that is already loaded on ships.Earlier, US energy secretary Chris Wright said the step was intended to quickly move existing oil supplies into the market.“We have implemented short term measures to help keep oil prices down. We are allowing our friends in India to take oil that is already on ships, refine it, and move those barrels into the market quickly. A practical way to get supply flowing and ease pressure,” Wright said in a post on X.In an interview with ABC News Live, Wright emphasised that the measure was temporary.“But as oil gets bid up a little bit because of those constraints coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, we’re taking a short-term action to say all this floating Russian oil storage that’s around Southern Asia, it’s China just backed up, China does not treat their suppliers well, so there’s a bunch of floating barrels just sitting there,” he said.“We’ve reached out to our friends in India and said, ‘Buy that oil. Bring it into your refineries’. That pulls stored oil immediately into Indian refineries and releases the pressure on other refineries around the world to buy oil that they’re no longer competing with the Indians for in that marketplace,” Wright added.“So we have a number of measures like that that are short-term and temporary. This is no change in policy towards Russia. This is a very brief change in policy just to keep oil prices down a little bit better than we could otherwise,” he further noted.
Waiver amid Strait of Hormuz tensions
The US Treasury earlier issued an order granting a 30-day licence allowing delivery and sale of Russian crude and petroleum products to India. The decision comes as shipping routes through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz face disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the region.“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said earlier.He stressed that the step was a limited measure and would not significantly benefit Moscow.“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” he said.“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he added.
India’s oil supply position
The move comes months after the Trump administration imposed 25% punitive tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that such imports were helping finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.However, the tariffs were later lifted after the two countries agreed on a framework for an interim trade agreement and India committed to reducing imports from Russia while increasing purchases of American energy.India currently imports nearly 5.5–5.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for about 90% of its domestic consumption. Officials say the country’s energy position remains comfortable despite the regional tensions.Around 15 million barrels of crude are currently on tankers in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, while vessels carrying another seven million barrels are waiting near Singapore. Additional tankers in the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal are also heading towards Indian ports and could arrive within a week.According to data from Kpler, India imported slightly over 1 million barrels per day of Russian crude in February, compared with 1.1 million bpd in January and 1.2 million bpd in December.Before the Ukraine war in 2022, Russian crude accounted for just 0.2% of India’s imports, but purchases increased sharply after Moscow began offering deep discounts.
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The logo for the Food and Drug Administration is seen ahead of a news conference at the Health and Human Services Headquarters in Washington, April 22, 2025.
Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images
A key U.S. Food and Drug Administration official who oversees vaccines and biotech treatments will step down from the agency following multiple decisions that raised concerns within the industry.
Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, will leave the FDA at the end of April, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Friday. It is his second departure from the position: He briefly left the post in July following backlash over his regulatory decisions, and returned only two weeks later in August.
In a post on X, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the FDA will appoint a successor before Prasad returns next month to the University of California San Francisco, where he taught before taking the FDA position last year. Makary said Prasad “got a tremendous amount accomplished” during his tenure at the agency.
Prasad’s decision to step down comes after criticism of the FDA mounted within the biotech and pharmaceutical industry and among former health officials. In the past year, the agency has denied or discouraged the approval applications of at least eight drugs, according to RTW Investments, after taking issue with data the companies used to support their applications. The FDA also initially refused to review Moderna’s flu shot before it later reversed course.
All of those companies accused the FDA of reversing previous guidance about the evidence they could use to back their applications, sparking criticism within the industry that an unreliable regulatory process could stifle development of drugs for hard-to-treat diseases.
A former FDA official who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity to speak freely on the issue called the reversals the worst kind of regulatory uncertainty because companies say they are being told one thing and then experience another.
In a statement earlier Friday, an FDA spokesperson said there was “no regulatory uncertainty,” adding the agency “makes decisions based on the evidence, but does not make assurances about outcomes.” The spokesperson said the FDA is “conducting rigorous, independent reviews and not rubber-stamping approvals.”
The most recent controversy came after the FDA discouraged UniQure from applying for expedited approval of its experimental treatment for Huntington’s disease.
The agency, which underwent staff cuts and an overhaul under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced broader backlash for its drug and vaccine approvals process. Critics have worried the agency could stifle the development of new treatments and risk the safety of patients.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported Prasad’s departure.
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‘Indians been good actors’: Why US ‘agreed to let’ India resume buying Russian oil temporarily – The Times of India
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