Everyone’s got a beverage concept now

Boba, dirty soda, refreshers, matcha lattes, espresso tonics, frappes. It seems like everyone loves a little beverage as a treat.

Chick-fil-A recently announced Daybright, a new beverage-focused concept set to debut in an Atlanta, Georgia suburb. Though details are limited, it will serve coffee, juice, smoothies, and food, though not the same menu as a traditional Chick-fil-A, per QSR Magazine. 

Daybright follows a trend…

… in which fast-food restaurants have been opening standalone concepts dedicated to beverages:

• McDonald’s experimented with CosMc’s, a sci-fi themed cafe it piloted in Illinois and Texas, but ultimately scrapped the spinoff in favor of adding new beverages to 500+ Wisconsin and Colorado stores.
• Taco Bell’s Live Más Café serves coffee drinks, refreshers, and other beverages, plus food. Taco Bell plans to open 30 across Texas and California this year.
• KFC’s Saucy serves chicken tenders with 11 dip options and 11 beverages. 

But…

… why are so many brands forging a path where McDonald’s, the behemoth of fast-food chains, failed? 

CosMc’s opened to long lines, but may have suffered — despite its quirky gimmick surrounding an extraterrestrial character — it was drive-thru focused, which isn’t particularly immersive or social. 

McDonald’s still continues to experiment in the beverage category, so maybe it wasn’t a total loss, after all.

Meanwhile, beverages remain, according to Restaurant Business Online, “arguably the hottest menu segment” in the industry. 

• Big hits include boba and dirty soda — sodas mixed with creamy ingredients.
• Chains including dirty soda pioneer Swig and coffee chains Dutch Bros. and 7 Brew are among the fastest growing.
• Even Pepsi is getting in on the dirty soda trend, with Pepsi Wild Cherry & Cream already on the shelves and two more — Dirty Dew and Mug Floats Vanilla Howler — on the way. 

Such trends are driven by younger consumers seeking out new flavors and customization, and an overall decline in alcohol consumption fueling innovation in non-alcoholic options.