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How cold coffee is heating up the menu at Caribou

Gretchen Hashemi-Rad, beverage category manager at Caribou Coffee, focuses on the cold side to appeal to younger consumers.

Patricia Cobe, Senior Editor

August 18, 2022

1 Min Read
drinks
Photo courtesy of Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and menu innovation has shifted from hot drinks to cold in the years since. Gretchen Hashemi-Rad, beverage category manager for the 400-plus chain, says sales of cold coffee and other icy beverages outpace hot coffees and teas—especially among younger consumers and even in the winter.

Gretchen Hashemi-Rad

Listen as she talks about how Caribou is changing up the menu to meet that demand, with equipment upgrades, energy drinks, blended and sparkling mocktails and its own bubble tea, and why the brand is carefully timing the start of pumpkin spice season to build anticipation.

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About the Author

Patricia Cobe

Senior Editor

Pat plans and executes the menu sections of Restaurant Business and FoodService Director, covering food and beverage trends, Menu R&D, profiles of chefs and restaurateurs and Technomic research. She also contributes to the digital content of both RB and FSD and is editor of two weekly e-newsletters, Recipe Report and On the Menu. Pat’s weekly podcast, MenuFeed, covers a wide range of menu topics through interviews with chefs and operators.

Pat came to Winsight from Hearst, where she was an executive editor. She is the co-author of the Mompreneurs series of books as well as two cookbooks. She graduated from Cornell University and earned a Masters in Journalism from Boston University. She is active in several professional organizations, including Les Dames d’Escoffier and the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), and serves as a judge for the James Beard Media Awards.

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