As Americans continue to treat themselves with “affordable luxuries” such as indulgent lattes, and customizable sodas, dispensed beverage sales at c-stores are likely to trend upward.
Nonalcoholic beverages have risen 10.7% on c-store menus in the past year as of the third quarter of 2024, according to Technomic Ignite Menu data. And coffee is on 7.3% more c-store menus over the past year.
Consumers continue to down lots of coffee — particularly specialty, premium espressos, lattes, cold brews and other related beverages. According to a 2024 study from the National Coffee Association, 45% of American adults surveyed had consumed specialty coffee in the past day, up 80% since 2011.
“Specialty coffees — particularly iced beverages — are continuing to grow as consumers seek out new and exciting beverages,” said Katie Belflower, manager of Menu Research & Insights for Technomic.
Cold brew is the fastest-growing non-dispensed coffee beverage at c-stores, up 11.8% year-over-year.
Allowing consumers to customize both cold and hot dispensed beverages will continue to be popular this year, as Americans display growing interest in flavors and health or flavor enhancements.
Pick the right flavor profiles
While more unique and global flavors are on the rise overall, convenience store customers gravitate toward the familiar. In c-stores, traditional flavors such as espresso (+13.8%), fruity (+10.5%), pineapple (+10.0%), orange (+10.0%) and mocha (+6.3%) are joining menus the fastest.
Much of the flavor variety in c-stores is displayed in hot coffee programs, such as Casey’s General Stores’ new lineup for 2025. Its new Darn Good Coffee program launched with eight flavors: Casey’s house blend, 100% Columbian, French roast, “Rooster’s Call” high-caffeine roast, salted caramel toffee, light roast, decaf and a limited-time toasted pecan blend.
As part of a foodservice overhaul, QuickChek started out 2025 with a “New Year’s Resolution” coffee with hints of strawberry and is bringing back fan-favorite Mardi Gras coffee, with notes of cinnamon, vanilla icing and butter, in February.
Dragon fruit is a top-growing beverage flavor, according to Datassential. Several c-stores offered drinks with dragon fruit flavoring last year, including Wawa's Galaxy Recharger featuring a blend of dragon fruit, blue raspberry (another trending flavor), and lemonade, as well as QuickChek's Iced Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher with Boba (a trending ingredient).
“Mainstay” flavors such as lemon, lime and cherry are the most popular at EG America banners, including Cumberland Farms, Quick Stop and Fastrac, according to Shauna Seidenberg, category manager for dispensed beverage for the Massachusetts-based retailer.
"We have noticed, though, that customers are mixing beverages and flavors across the board — not just adding one flavor to a single beverage,” she said.
Popular enhancements for hot beverages at EG America include classics such as vanilla, caramel, hazelnut and mocha. Seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice and peppermint can also drive a lot of excitement, according to Seidenberg.
Oat milk is a top beverage ingredient c-store operators should consider, according to Emily Murawski, research and insights manager at Datassential. It has nearly quadrupled its presence on beverage menus over the past four years as a coffee add-on, in lattes (both coffee and tea) and in smoothies and other beverages.
Additionally, boba is increasingly showing up in milk tea and smoothies,, Murawski said. Last summer, QuickChek featured boba in a line of LTOs including its Frozen Strawberry Lemonade with Boba, which garnered a "Superstar" rating from customers in Datassential's Launches & Ratings platform.
Customization is essential
While providing a variety of enhancements for hot beverages has been important in the c-store space for years, customizing cold dispensed beverages is becoming more popular as well.
The nationwide “dirty soda” trend, which has restaurants serving up creative blends of soda, flavored mix-ins and creamers, entered the c-store space last year with EG America’s Cumberland Farms’ Dirty Dr Pepper.
The combo quickly took off.
“We saw great customer engagement on social media and in our stores, which is reflective of how much customers enjoy customizing their beverages,” Seidenberg said.
EG America seeks to make its stores a destination for “high-quality, unique, and high value beverages,” Seidenberg said. “The ‘dirty’ Dr. Pepper trend aligned perfectly with that goal, enabling us to tap into a fun, viral trend that brought people into our stores.”
This year, EG America plans to provide more options to meet the growing demand for cold beverages, Seidenberg said, based on customer feedback and emerging trends.
Similarly, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores has seen an “increased demand for more custom, creative and indulgent beverages,” said Greg Ekman, the company’s recently appointed director of fresh kitchen strategy and growth,
“The need for customization of drinks like coffee is not new but the expansion of that experience into the carbonated beverage space is certainly a newer trend,” said Ekman, adding that it is important to allow customers to customize beverages because “palettes and cravings vary.”
To that end, Love’s executives are “working on a few different projects that will enhance our customers' ability to craft the perfect beverage, including some proprietary offerings that will be exclusively available at Love’s,” Ekman said.
More c-stores could benefit from getting involved in the dirty soda trend, according to Belflower of Technomic. “Many c-stores already offer creamer as part of their coffee service, and could create signage encouraging customers to create their own dirty sodas with fountain soda, creamer and flavored syrups,” she said.
Functional, energy and protein benefits are in
The fastest-growing nonalcoholic beverage at c-stores is energy drinks, which have doubled year-over-year, according to Technomic. This data includes both packaged and dispensed beverages.
There has also been a hike in other caffeinated drinks, like refreshers, across foodservice, according to Belflower.
“Operators are introducing their own energy drinks or blends rather than offering just traditional canned brands,” Belflower said. “I expect this trend will continue in 2025.”
Beverage customers are also increasingly looking for functionality, according to Seidenberg.
“They want beverages that offer additional health benefits,” Saidenberg noted. “This could include clean energy drinks made with lower sugar and natural caffeine sources, which provide a smoother, longer-lasting energy boost without the crash often associated with traditional energy drinks.”
Additionally, immunity-boosting drinks with ingredients like vitamin C, zinc and antioxidants have seen rising popularity — especially during flu season, according to Seidenberg. Other functional enhancements might include gut health, focus and mental clarity, or drinks with stress-relief benefits, she added.
The higher-protein trend is also making its way into beverages, thanks to the growth of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and diets such as paleo and keto. As part of its new food and beverage options launched at the beginning of this year, QuickCheck added protein smoothies.
Wawa has been embracing both of these trends with its booster smoothies, which use all natural flavors and come in protein and immunity-boosting varieties.
Additionally, “proffee,” or protein-added coffee that blends protein powder, milk, coffee, and health-conscious sweeteners to make “indulgent, wellness-inspired drinks,” has become much more prolific in coffee houses.
