Grow beverage sales with trending cold brew coffee

Cold brew has been one of the fastest growing foodservice trends over the past few years, appealing to consumers with its smooth, refreshing taste while expanding the cold coffee category, creating an incremental sales opportunity for operators.

Coffee consumption overall is at an all-time high. In fact, the latest National Coffee Association survey reveals that 66% of Americans aged 18 had a coffee yesterday. What’s more, 9% of past-day coffee drinkers had a coffee made via cold brewing – the third most used preparation method even at the height of winter in January 2022. This consumption of cold brew is on par with that in July 2021, underscoring the year-round popularity of cold brew coffee and its continued growth trajectory.

Within the cold brew coffee category, nitro is emerging as an increasingly popular variety. The infusion of nitrogen is known to give beverages a perceived natural sweetness and velvety mouthfeel, as well as the iconic visual of micro bubbles cascading into a foamy head when poured. This “on-tap” experience familiar to nitro beer consumers contributes to the premiumization of the cold brew experience, making it an obvious choice for those looking to elevate their coffee program.

Still, operators typically face significant operational challenges to offering nitro cold brew. Despite those barriers, nitro cold brew has seen a 904% increase in menu penetration over the past four years according to a Datassential report in 2020. That number is expected to grow as new dispensing technology emerges to overcome key barriers to serving nitro cold brew, allowing more operators to meet the significant demand.

The NitroTap™ by Segafredo Zanetti® is one such innovation designed to eliminate the need for full-bar draft systems and kegerator setups to serve nitro cold brew. Without sacrificing quality of the “on-tap” experience, this countertop unit infuses nitrogen into beverages at the point of dispense and does not require gas service or tanks to do so. A true plug-and-play system, the NitroTap™ is designed specifically to help foodservice operators easily add this category driver.

From new dispensing innovations to existing ready-to-drink cold brew and brew-it-yourself methods, Segafredo Zanetti® delivers cold brew solutions customized to individual operators and their menus.

For more ideas about how to increase beverage sales with premium cold brew items, sign up for the Segafredo Zanetti® e-newsletter here or request a coffee consultation today.