American coffee company and coffeehouse chain Starbucks is reportedly introducing a cold brewed holiday drink called the Irish Cream Cold Brew. Apparently, the new cold beverage is blended with Irish cream syrup, garnished with vanilla flavored sweet cream cold foam and dusted with cocoa powder.

Evidently, Starbucks’ cold brew products contain 40 mg more caffeine than its iced coffee. Cold brewed beverages have more caffeine and less acidic content as compared to traditional iced ones.

According to reliable sources, Starbucks’ cold beverages make up for nearly half of U.S. sales and continue to gain popularity among consumers. To lure customers back, the coffee chain has shifted its focus to light iced drinks from heavy blended drinks, sources claimed. The company not only introduced new flavors of iced drinks such as Refreshers but also unveiled Nitro cold brews which are available in all Starbucks outlets across U.S.

The success of the cold drinks contributed 5 percentage points to the 6 percent rise in the fourth quarters U.S. same-store sales.

For the record, Starbucks had first launched the Spiced Sweet Cream Cold Brew in 2016 following which the company introduced Christmas Tree Frappuccino to its holiday lineup in 2017. Moreover, Starbucks introduced the Salted Cream Cold Brew, Cold Foam Cascara Cold Brew and Butterfly Pea Lemonade Cold Brew to its holiday cold beverage line up in 2018.

Starbucks had also reportedly launched its first pumpkin-based cold brew called Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew in August.

According to industry experts, the introduction of cold brewed beverages can boost the afternoon sales of coffee chains. Coffee sales lose pace after the busy morning hours, which is a challenge for outlets in enticing customers without focusing on various discounts. However, cold brews are more expensive than average iced coffee.

Experts further claimed that cold brews customers spent $1.7 trillion in 2018, which make up for 7.3% of U.S. coffee chain menus. The sales have increased by 356% since 2015.

Dine Brands’ IHOP, Panera Bread and Dunkin’ are also entering the cold brew trend. The America-based coffee and donut company Dunkin’ had introduced its cold brew beverage called Irish Crème for St. Patrick’s Day.

 

Source Credits – https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/03/starbucks-launches-holiday-cold-brew-drink-as-the-iced-beverages-popularity-soars.html