Chocolicious: drink trends 2025

The hot drinks that will be rising in popularity in 2025 are hot chocolate drinks with an indulgent and premium twist. For example, flavoured hot chocolate such as white hot chocolate, premium hot chocolate with exciting toppings, innovative mochas, chocolate frappes, chocolate milkshakes and even frozen hot chocolates.

Hot drinks will be evolving in 2025 through expertly crafted hot chocolate and exciting toppings as consumers are willing to pay more for this. Hot drinks will also evolve by the elevation of premium hot chocolate such as using single origin chocolate or coffee and flavoured syrups.

Innovative hot drinks we’ve seen in the out of home include frozen berry hot chocolate, chocolate chai, roasted white hot chocolate and deluxe smores hot chocolate. The flavour description of these hot chocolates range from smooth and subtle sweetness to rich, robust and bold, showcasing the variety you can offer with hot chocolate.

Other products have distinctive flavours including a mix of salted caramel, cinnamon, vanilla and floral. There will also be a rise in hot chocolate collaborations, as we’ve already seen pairings with the likes of lotus and kit-kat, therefore you’ll need to stay ahead of the curve to meet consumer demand as this trend evolves in 2025.

The chocolicious trend refers to the cutting-edge drink/dessert options that draw consumers into the irresistible world of chocolate indulgence. The examples we’ve seen out of home are premium hot chocolates with loaded toppings including toasted marshmallows, chocolate flakes, sprinkles and whipped cream, as well as innovative desserts such as delicious sushi style crepes dipped in chocolate fondue.

Although chocolate is not considered healthy, there is research that suggests a strong interest in hot chocolate with added health benefits **** particularity for younger groups who are more health conscious. There are variety of ways to add health benefits to the chocolicious trend whilst still keeping the delicious taste and premium touch. This can be done by the type of ingredients used, for example:

• Incorporating dark chocolate into products as dark chocolate has more health benefits than milk chocolate
• Using cacao beans/powder which has antixoidants and flavonoids that are considered to offer unique health benefits
• Instead of using high in sugar syrups in hot chocolates, you can add organic syrups that have more natural sugars, such as date syrup
• Using natural fruits as extras for toppings or natural spices such as cinnamon, ginger and chilli’s
• Research suggests that consumers are interested in trying hot chocolate with relaxing ingredients such as lavender***. We’ve seen operators incorporate these type of ingredients into hot chocolate, such as CBD infused hot chocolate which is known to impact the mood. We’ve also seen operators using other global health trends for innovation such as pairing matcha and white chocolate or coconut milk and chocolate.

The hot drinks you should include on your menu in 2025 are premium hot chocolates and mochas. To successfully craft a deluxe hot chocolate/mocha, you need to consider the below:

• Consider including a variety of flavoured hot chocolates on your menu, such as white hot chocolate, orange hot chocolate, salted caramel hot chocolate or vanilla bean hot chocolate
• Add extras toppings to the menu such as toasted marshmallows, chocolate flakes, biscuit crumbles or flavoured whipped cream
• Offer natural spices whether it’s included inside the drink or just sprinkled on top – such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom or chilli.
• Where possible, you should also include vegan and gluten free options to appeal to those with different dietary requirements.

The latest drink trends will encompass the indulgence of chocolate, through the rise of premium hot drinks such as premium hot chocolate, flavoured hot chocolate and single origin coffee. You can find out more about the chocolicuous trend here.

After fizzy drinks, coffee is one of the leading drinks that consumers are typically drinking out of home. However, coffee will expand into larger, frothier and milkier formats to engage consumers into the category. Coffee’s such as mochas will also expand as the chocolicious trend evolves, for example a smores mocha made with rich chocolate, topped with toasted marshmallows, crumbs, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

The other latest drink trends that consumers are interested in trying in the next 1-2 years are iced coffees, frappes and fruit smoothies, perfect for summer menus.

Irish whiskey, Guinness, Bourbon and Portuguese wine will be growing in popularity, which you can learn more about from our flavours less travelled trend.

Slow serves like beer and wine and on-the-go drinks like coffee will be rising in popularity as they provide good value. Out of beers, lager is the most engaged drink, and out of wines, white wine, red wine and prosecco are leaders in this market and will continue to grow in popularity.

Regarding the leading spirits – vodka, flavoured gin and whiskey will remain popular in the out of home, followed by rum and liqueurs. In fact, the cream liqueurs category has grown by nearly 20% compared to a year ago and is set to rise in popularity in 2025. This coincides with the growing Chocolicous trend as cream liqueurs will be advantageous when creating innovative chocolate drinks and desserts.

Drinks will be evolving in 2025 through the use of innovation which will be seen across hot drinks, iced drinks and coffees. In addition to innovation, drinks will be evolving through the prioritisation of international and sustainability serves. You can find more about these topics from our Chocolicious trend, pro-active practices trend and our flavours less travelled trend.

The flavours that will become popular in drinks in 2025 are white hot chocolate, orange hot chocolate and salted caramel hot chocolate. The ingredients that will become popular are, toasted marshmallows, chocolate flakes, cinnamon spices and of course whipped cream. International flavours will also be appealing, such as the use of premium single origin chocolates that offer flavour nuances.

The drinks you should include on your menu in 2025 are premium hot chocolate drinks, international wines, and trending spirits that we’ve discovered from our research. For example, you should be including the below that are rising in popularity:

• Premium hot chocolate with unique flavours and exciting toppings such as white hot chocolate with marshmallows and sprinkles
• Irish whiskey, Irish cream and Guinness will be rising in popularity as consumers seek to try Irish cuisine within the next 1-2 years. For more information on Irish cuisine, visit our Close to Home trend.
• A variety of Bourbon and Whiskey spirits will be rising in popularity as consumers seek to try Southern American cuisine. For more information on Southern American cuisine, visit our Southern American trend.
• A variety of international wines will be rising in popularity including Portuguese and Argentinean wines. For more information on Portuguese and Argentinean trends, visit our Flavours less travelled trend.