Hot Coffee Flavors
Flavored coffee and flavorings for coffee boost sales and customer frequency at restaurant chains.
Sherry A. Hatlestad -- Chain Leader, 10/1/2007
Flavored coffee and flavorings for coffee account for nearly 30 percent of coffee sales, according to Technomic Inc., a leading foodservice research and consulting firm based in Chicago. And that number is expected to increase as seasonal and limited-time offers boost customer visits, and as more large quick-service chains add or upgrade their coffee programs.
Fruitful to Harvest
As summer leaves, so do fresh seasonal fruit flavors such raspberry, blueberry and wild berry, only to be replaced by the more earthy harvest flavors of cinnamon, apple and pumpkin. And soon, the oh-so-popular holiday favorites such as peppermint and eggnog will be appearing on menus as the cold-weather holidays approach.
At Denver-based Le Peep, the top coffee flavors are hazelnut and French vanilla, certified standards. Other popular flavors include Irish cream and French caramel crème. “When fall and winter hit, we bring out special holiday flavors such as Autumn Spice and Eggnog,” says Amanda Rhoads, vice president of the full-service breakfast chain.
In addition to new flavors, “fair trade and organic coffees are a growing hot trend,” she says.
While she can’t give exact figures, Rhoads says flavored-coffee sales have continued to grow at Le Peep. “There seem to be different markets out there for flavored coffees, espresso type drinks such as lattes and regular coffee drinkers,” she adds. Through its affiliated companies, Le Peep grows, buys and imports green coffee beans; then roasts and flavors them and supplies them to most of its restaurants.
Boost of Flavor
On the other side of the flavored-coffee market there are flavored shots such as those offered at specialty coffee chain Caribou Coffee. Caribou offers not flavored coffees but a plethora of coffee flavorings from chocolate and vanilla to pumpkin pie. Michael Coles, chairman and CEO of the Minneapolis-based chain, is careful to point out the difference: “There are flavored coffees, and there are coffee-flavoring shots. Caribou offers flavored shots to be placed in coffee drinks.”
One of the more popular flavored summer offerings was the Northern Lite Cooler available in caramel, chocolate, vanilla coffee or espresso flavors. The limited-time offering was so popular that it was eventually added to the permanent menu. However, the best-selling flavoring for coffee year in and year out is mocha, followed by vanilla then caramel. In all, sales of all specialty coffee drinks account for nearly 30 percent of total beverage sales at Caribou.
At the end of September, the 494-unit chain rolled out the Pumpkin Pie Latte and Hot Apple Blast as seasonal specials. And closer to the holiday season, limited-time offerings will include the Fa-La-La Latte made with an eggnog flavoring; the Ho-Ho-Ho Mocha, a white chocolate latte with mint syrup and candy cane crunches; and a Gingerbread Latte, flavored with ginger bread syrup. All the flavored syrups offered at Caribou Coffee are proprietary.
Menu Development
When developing new menu items, Caribou has a six-person team that brainstorms ideas that come from various industries, competitors, and ice cream and candy flavors. According to Coles, Caribou’s menu development team studies all the trends from smoothies to coolers. The product is then tested in about 20 stores or offered as an LTO before it is rolled out chainwide. All of Caribou Coffee’s menus are fairly standard allowing little room for regional diversion.
For Le Peep, many of the new drink ideas are developed in the same way its menu items are. “We 
like to take advantage of the resource we have in our many employees at the different restaurants,” explains Rhoads. “Together, they represent many cultures, tastes, backgrounds and experiences. As such, we make the most of the wealth of creativity and ideas available to us through our employees when searching for fun and delicious new items.”
When it is time to look for new drinks, the company will offer them as specials in the restaurants. It then tracks the results as far as sales and comments from customers. The ones that come up the most favorable are implemented into the menu.
“Our big flavors will continue to be on our menu,” says Rhoades. “We are also looking at flavors like chocolate raspberry or Swiss chocolate.”
Sherry A. Hatlestad is a Chicago-based freelance writer. She was formerly managing editor of Chain Leader and editorial project manager on Café Cuisine magazine.
Top coffee flavors