In this blog post, we will be looking at the current trends and new ideas for updating the menu in a coffee shop. Offering something different and up-to-date with the changing tastes of the coffee-drinking consumer is essential to attract and retain customer interest. This guide will help owners of UK coffee shops update their ‘out of home coffee’ offerings.
Understanding Today’s Coffee Trends
As buyers of specialty and artisanal coffees from places like Finlay’s Out-of-Home Coffee Solutions, become more discerning worldwide, the artisanal movement continues to grow. This is undoubtedly due to their desire for unique, better-quality brews – often made from sustainably or ethically sourced beans.
Cold Brew Crazy
Cold-brew has come a long way since simply steeping the grounds in cold water – especially among millennials.
Try one of the flavours below: Nitro Cold Brew: Cold-brewed coffee with a smooth texture, infused with nitrogen Cold Brew Vanilla Almond: Cold-brewed coffee made with almond milk for an extra creamy drink, with a vanilla syrup aroma Cold Brew Lemonade: Light, sweet, and refreshing with a summery touch of cold brew mixed with lemonade.
Health-Conscious Options
In the age of wellness, health is the new beauty. For all health conscious coffee shops, those serious about health should expand their ranges on what can be bought and drunk in keeping with health.
Think Matcha Latte, made with matcha powder and steamed milk, a traditional green tea that is full of health benefits and antioxidants or, Oat Milk Latte, a creamy, dairy-free latte made with oat milk. Or there’s always Golden Turmeric Latte, which is caffeine-free, warming, with golden milk and the health benefits of anti-inflammatory turmeric, ginger and cinnamon with steamed milk. But selling oat milk, hemp milk and cashew milk, or including CBD oil or adaptogens in their regular offerings, is always good business.
Of course, offering a variety of options like oat milk, hemp milk, and cashew milk, or adding functional ingredients such as CBD oil or adaptogens, are always good for business.
Seasonal Specials for Summer
Summer is the ideal season for iced, flavoured, refreshing coffee drinks. Why not serve some of the more popular versions of iced lattés: lavender, mint, coconut and berry infused are good sellers. How about coffee-based milkshakes or frappes, augmented with bespoke toppings such as whipped cream, marshmallows or fruit compotes? Specialty items, geared to the seasons, holidays or popular trends, are also a great way of promoting sales.
Enhancing Your Espresso Offerings
What coffee shop would be complete without espresso drinks? Beyond the standards, different espresso drinks such as cortados, flat whites and macchiatos can be offered. Thorough training on the art of espresso extractions and different techniques for milk-foaming are crucial as well, so each coffee drink is executed to perfection and consistency.
When done well, these coffees are so beautifully balanced and energising that they can quickly become a customer’s essential daily pleasure; latte art classes and demonstrations turn the experience into a fun learning event for customers.
Specialty Coffee Blends and Single-Origin Choices
Quality, flavour and origin are paramount in the third wave coffee scene, and specialty coffees consist of blends that are meticulously chosen for fragrance, body, acidity and aftertaste, and single-origin beans are highly valued. Provide a rotating list of these.
Add tasting notes for each, written up by baristas or coffee sourcers, detailing the regions where the beans are cultivated and processed. This informs customers about the taste and leads them to embrace the coffee and the labour that goes into it.
Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing
Trend or not, as food and environmental awareness increase, pitches on sustainability and ethical sourcing are no longer enough: they’re the way forward. Source your beans from suppliers that provide fair trade or fair pay to their farmers; use truly sustainable packaging. Have a viable composting plan for your spent coffee grounds on premises or a local council project to place all coffee waste in designated green compost bins in your local park. Be clear about all these initiatives within your company so customers know that they aren’t simply spending money on coffee but on a positive, environmentally sustainable effort.
If you’re open and honest about your ethics and sustainability efforts, your customers will feel good about buying from you.
Conclusion
In conclusion, your coffee shop should stay on top of coffee trends and new inventions and innovations; it should continually update its menu and have special offerings throughout the year. This will ensure capitalising your coffee shop business. And if you want to attract more people to drink out of home coffee, which is terrific from the point of view of the coffee industry, adding creative drinks, upgrading your espresso offerings, and focusing on presentation and sustainability will only help.
Promoting specialty coffee drinks, plant-based products, and ethical sources can attract new customers, or appeal to and retain regulars. It’s important to make sure your coffee shop keeps up with the latest trends. This way, you’ll become the go-to coffee shop in your area – which is always good for business, now and for the future!
