Australian cafés have missed massive market opportunities while specialty stores captured entire segments that traditional coffee shops could have owned. Cold drinks now account for 55% of all café sales in the USA, with Starbucks reporting 74% of their beverage sales are cold drinks, driven by generational change where the majority of Gen Z prefer flavoured beverages and less than half drink traditional hot coffee daily.

This session will demonstrate four profitable cold drink categories that cafés can immediately implement: Cold Brew Coffee, Energy Sodas, Dirty Sodas, and Italian Sodas. This isn’t just about adding drinks – it’s about capturing over half of the market that’s moving toward customisable, visually appealing cold beverages that younger consumers actively seek.