Beverages Are Becoming a New Growth Engine for Restaurants

For many years, beverages on restaurant menus were seen as complementary sales alongside the main product.

New consumer behavior is changing this relationship.

According to the National Restaurant Association's 2026 Restaurant Beverage Trends research, 87% of full-service restaurant operators and 80% of limited-service operators believe that beverages can be a significant growth tool for restaurant traffic. The majority of operators also indicate that a wider beverage selection has become more important compared to the past.

This result shows that beverages are no longer just "soda next to a burger."

Coffee, tea, smoothies, lemonade, energy drinks, non-alcoholic cocktails, and functional products are starting to create reasons for visits on their own.

72% of Consumers See Restaurants as Beverage Discovery Points

72% of consumers participating in the research say that restaurants are a good place to discover beverages they haven't tried before.

54% enjoy trying new flavors in their beverage choices. More than half of consumers want to see more beverage options on restaurant menus.

The opportunity here is not to fill the menu with dozens of SKUs.

The real value is to create a few strong products that customers cannot easily replicate at home or find elsewhere.

For example:

homemade flavored lemonade,
special iced tea,
espresso-based seasonal drink,
non-alcoholic signature cocktail,
spice or herb profile soda

can create the brand's own beverage identity.

Gen Z and Millennials Are Turning Beverages into Experiences

In the research, Gen Z and millennials stand out particularly.

71% of both groups believe that their favorite restaurant beverages offer a taste experience that cannot be easily replicated at home.

About 7 out of 10 young adults want to see more beverage options on menus.

This result shows that for young consumers, beverages are not just products that quench thirst.

Flavor, appearance, personalization, and innovation work together.

Especially coffee and fast-casual brands have invested in:

cold foam,
energy-based drinks,
fruit refreshers,
seasonal lattes,
special teas

in recent years due to this behavior.

The Most Striking Opportunity: Coming to the Restaurant Just for Beverages

One of the strongest data points from the research from an operational perspective is the beverage-only occasion.

37% of consumers use a restaurant or foodservice establishment at least once a week for the sole purpose of purchasing beverages.

This rate is:

50% among Gen Z,
47% among millennials.

Moreover, the strongest time frame is the afternoon.

This is very important for restaurants.

Because the classic service economy is built around:

breakfast,
lunch,
dinner

while the beverage program can create new traffic during weaker hours like 2:00 PM–5:00 PM.

This model, long used by coffee chains, can now be transferred to traditional restaurants as well.

The Afternoon Could Be a New Sales Window for Restaurants

After lunch service ends at a full-service restaurant, the kitchen and dining room capacity can be underutilized for several hours.

The beverage program can take advantage of this time.

For example:

iced coffee + small dessert,
signature lemonade,
non-alcoholic spritz,
smoothie,
tea service

can create new reasons for visits that do not require a full meal order.

The key point here is to design beverages not as a byproduct of the main meal operation but as a separate daypart strategy.

If the business is genuinely trying this model, it should track this data:

How many additional transactions came in due to beverages between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM?

Where Are Limited-Service Businesses Seeing Growth?

According to the National Restaurant Association's research, among the categories that limited-service businesses plan to grow are:

coffee 46%,
tea 31%,
smoothies 29%,
lemonade 27%,
energy drinks 26%,
wellness beverages 24%

This distribution does not indicate the disappearance of classic soda.

It rather shows that restaurants are trying to provide more answers to the consumer's question, "What else can I drink?"

It is particularly noteworthy that the coffee category is in the first place.

Restaurants are now competing not only with coffee chains but also for beverage customers at certain times of the day.

Non-Alcoholic Options Are Growing on the Full-Service Side

In full-service restaurants, growth plans are different.

55% of operators are focusing on expanding categories such as mixed cocktails,
49% alcohol-free cocktails,
45% beer,
42% wine,
39% alcohol-free beer.

It is significant that non-alcoholic cocktails are on the same investment list as traditional beer and wine.

"No/low alcohol" is now seen not just as an alternative for customers who do not drink alcoholic beverages but as a tool to create premium beverage occasions on its own.

The key issue for restaurants here is pricing.

Non-alcoholic cocktails need to be perceived by consumers as prepared drinks that involve labor and recipes, not just "fruit juice."

Not Every New Beverage Is a Profitable Product

The research highlights the traffic and sales potential of beverages.

However, the right question from the operator's perspective is not "How many beverages should we add?"

Which beverage truly generates contribution profit?

For example, a complex signature beverage:

7 ingredients,
special garnish,
two different syrups,
long preparation time

may have a high sales price, but labor and waste costs can grow.

Therefore, the key KPIs for the beverage menu should be:

beverage cost %,
contribution margin,
preparation time,
waste,
sales volume,
attach rate.

If menu innovation slows down the bar, the growth opportunity can turn into an operational problem.

There Is a Significant Gap in Takeout

One of the most concrete opportunities from the research is delivery and takeaway.

While beverages are common in dine-in orders, beverage attachment in delivery orders is lower.

In contrast, 83% of delivery customers say they would add beverages to their orders more often if a wider beverage selection was offered due to better packaging.

Among Gen Z and millennials, this rate rises to 89%.

Two-thirds of operators also indicate that they would increase delivery beverage promotions once the transportation issue is resolved.

This result is significant.

The barrier to growth is not always consumer demand.

Sometimes it is lids and cups.

Beverage Packaging Is Now a Revenue Problem

The fundamental risks in delivery beverages are known:

spillage,
ice melting,
loss of carbonation,
product layer degradation,
temperature stability.

Due to these issues, a restaurant may choose not to offer some premium beverages for delivery at all.

Ultimately, food orders generate revenue, but beverage revenue goes to another channel.

Therefore, packaging investment can be evaluated not just as packaging cost but as potential attach-rate investment.

For example, if a business can measure:

current beverage attach rate 18%,
after new cup 26%

it can calculate the real impact of packaging investment.

Be Cautious of Claims in Functional Beverage Demand

The National Restaurant Association's 2026 What's Hot research shows:

energy drinks,
fermented/gut-friendly beverages,
low and non-alcoholic options

as rising categories.

However, it is important for restaurants not to turn the concept of "wellness" into a health promise.

The beverage should not claim to:

provide energy,
improve digestion,
boost immunity

as these are health claims dependent on the product and regulations.

A safer approach in menu innovation is to describe the consumer's taste, content, and preference characteristics; not to promise unverified health outcomes.

Where Is the Opportunity for Restaurants in Turkey?

Turkey already has a strong beverage culture.

Tea, Turkish coffee, ayran, sherbet, lemonade, and various regional drinks create a wide base.

However, many restaurants still present these products as a standard beverage list at the end of the menu.

The opportunity may be to transform these into:

seasonal,
signature product,
non-alcoholic cocktail format,
locally sourced

into a stronger beverage program.

For example, for a premium restaurant:

unripe grape-based non-alcoholic aperitif,
tamarind or basil drink,
special cold brew,
seasonal fruit soda

can create both local identity and high added value.

But the goal is not to produce an "Instagram beverage."

It is to create products that are sellable, quick to prepare, and can be reordered.

Stafflink's View

In our opinion, the real growth opportunity for beverages in restaurants is not to sell a more expensive cup; it is the ability to create a new reason for visits and a new daypart.

The fact that half of Gen Z visits a foodservice establishment at least once a week just for beverages is the most striking signal here.

If restaurants want to see the beverage program as a genuine growth channel, they should measure three things together:

traffic,
contribution profit,
preparation time.

Best-selling beverages that slow down operations or leave low margins are not success.

The right product can turn an empty table outside of meal times into a new revenue time.