Restaurants have to manage some challenging contradictions these days: Offer a menu that’s new and exciting, but keep your inventory simple. Make your promotions feel special and made-to-order, but do so with a low-skilled, skeleton crew. Increasingly, though, operators are finding ways through these challenges by innovating their beverage menus. Whether it be specialty hot and cold coffees, matcha teas, energy drinks or boba, beverages are giving operators opportunities to offer customizable options that delight guests and have Instagram-worthy visual appeal, but don’t require lots of training. New products and approaches are making it possible for operators to experiment with beverage textures, colors and toppings, as well as boost the guest’s overall experience factor. For example, displays at the National Restaurant Association Show included tasty new options to coat the rims of beverage glasses, a butterfly pea flower drink that changes color, and a bubble-topped cocktail that releases a smoky mist when the bubbles are pierced. Of course, specialty beverages can also fetch premium prices, so they reliably boost check totals – all while piquing guests’ curiosity, using an economy of ingredients, and being fairly simple to swap out with the seasons or your chosen promotional period. Is there room for innovation on your beverage menu? 

​It’s that time of year when a cool drink can be even more appealing than a meal or snack. What’s more, a new survey by Revenue Management Solutions found that specialty drinks can be revenue powerhouses for foodservice operators – largely because they break many of the rules consumers tend to follow when it comes to their spending. Specifically, when the 600-plus people participating in the survey were asked about their purchasing habits, 80 percent of respondents said they order specialty drinks multiple times a week, even though they reported a drop in their overall restaurant visits. One in four respondents said they order specialty beverages more than once a week – even though almost half of respondents said they are ordering less in order to save money right now. Specialty drinks are also ideal items for people to enjoy on the go or at home – and according to the survey, people who use delivery are less sensitive to price than guests using other sales channels. There might be an opportunity for you to include specialty drinks as an upsell suggestion on your app, where people might be more open to paying a bit more, or for you to promote them as a special limited-time offer. If you’re looking into expanding your menu offering in this area, consider a diverse mix of options: The survey found that tastes differ across generations, with younger consumers preferring sodas and soft drinks, and older consumers opting for house-made drinks. Flavor and price were the top factors affecting a person’s purchasing decision. Other key themes stood out: The top beverage choice was hot or iced coffee, earning 82 percent of the vote, followed by soft drinks. While 80 percent of respondents ordered their beverages from coffee shops, 76 percent ordered them from restaurants, so respondents perceive restaurants as places to go for an appealing drink, whether it’s coffee or not. Recommendations from friends and family played an important role in respondents’ decision to buy too, so giving people an incentive to spread the word with others if they enjoy their drink can help boost traffic and sales.

Building a worthwhile dining experience isn’t just about the food. More restaurants and bars are trying to make the experience feel a little extra special — and well worth the cost of dining out — by changing up the glassware other elements of beverage service to help make the experience more memorable for both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinkers. Consider the bird-shaped cocktail glass at Bohemien Bar in Brooklyn, or the Smoke on the London Roaster coffee cocktail served in a red telephone booth at Barquila in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Other restaurants are scoring points for presentation with creative fruit purées and garnishes. Everything from toasted marshmallows, to caramel apple slices, to strips of bacon, to gummy bears are appearing as fun finishing touches in drinks to make the experience of dining out feel more worthwhile.

A cool drink can be an even bigger draw than great food on a hot summer day – and more consumers are looking for beverage options without alcohol. Food Navigator research found that low- and no-alcohol consumption is on track to rise by one-third by 2026. What could be helpful for restaurant operators to know is that many of these beverages cost just as much on store shelves as their alcoholic counterparts do – and your menu prices can reflect that. But according to Mintel research, it’s important to promote the experience of these drinks to justify the price tag. Experience-enhancing traits could include flavor combinations that are perceived to be higher-end, eye-catching colors, and ingredients that profess to improve health or mood.

Gimmick or not, ice cubes that have been infused with all things edible and eye-catching is all the rage. These specialty cubes, which encase edible flowers, herbs, fruit and other items, went viral when a fashion influencer made a video showcasing nine different types of specialty ice cubes in her freezer. While they can add visual punch to your cocktail menu, they can also add interest and layers of flavor to lemonade, iced tea and iced coffee (try adding frozen cubes of coffee to avoid watering down the drink’s flavor).

More consumers may be cutting back on alcoholic beverages, but they are still craving premium drinks. Your beverage menu is an ideal tool to use to bring customers in the door to enjoy items they crave but are less apt to prepare at home or order for takeout. As the weather cools, you can pull in so many appealing flavors of the season – think warm, spicy pumpkin, caramel apple, tangy cranberry or sweet pear. What flavors could you recast in new recipes to help guests experience the season?

At a time when consumers may need a little extra incentive to dine out at restaurants, the experience you offer plays an increasingly important role. Your beverage menu can help enhance your restaurant experience, all while helping you boost check totals. Try elevating your alcoholic and non-alcoholic options with indulgent after-dinner drinks, warm seasonal concoctions and memorable presentations – elements your guests wouldn’t necessarily go to the trouble to recreate at home (and in many states, may not be able to order to-go).