Gen Z is reshaping the beverage industry, increasingly crafting their own drinks at home spurred by TikTok trends, aiming to mimic a cafe barista or bartender. Torani, a longtime staple of the beverage syrups category, is always on the lookout for the next trendy flavors and is keeping an eye out on what people are concocting at home — from nutty coffee to energy drinks with vanilla flavor.
Andrea Ramirez, Torani’s consumer market insight manager, has worked at the company since 2001 and has observed the significant way beverage consumption trends have changed. Its bread-and-butter was previously adding flavor to hot coffee drinks, which were typically only accompanied by cream, sugar and flavors like vanilla or caramel. But around 2016, Ramirez noticed that change when iced drinks took greater prominence with consumers.
“We look to position ourselves in the personalized beverage experience that is bringing novelty and excitement, incorporating more layers of flavors,” Ramirez said.
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The company sells over 150 flavored syrups, designed for both retail and for foodservice locations like cafes, designed to be added to beverages in order to add unique tastes — in both sugar-infused and sugar-free varieties. Some of its flavors include Vanilla, Caramel, Coconut, Raspberry, Peanut Butter Cup, Belgian Cookie, Macadamia Nut and Irish Cream.
Its latest syrup which launched in April, Dragon Fruit, was crafted alongside a Vietnamese coffee shop in Kansas City. Torani’s food scientists identified the flavor’s growing popularity and tested several varieties of the subtly sweet syrup, designed for use in flavored water, cocktails and coffees.
Trends in the foodservice space, with equipment like Coca-Cola’s Freestyle soft drink machines, have allowed people to experiment with novel flavors, Ramirez said. In the Southwest region of the country, particularly Utah, custom soda shops making “dirty” drinks — consisting of Coke or Sprite, flavors like coconut lime and creamer — have also seen viral success. Torani saw its more diverse flavors taking off in tandem with this change.
Torani told Food Dive it recently surpassed $500 million in annual revenue for the first time. It traces its current boom in popularity to the start of the pandemic in 2020, when coffeeshops and drive-thru restaurants it typically thrives in were forced to close.
“Our business really grew because we were that professional product that was available for consumers to start making their own cafe types of drinks at home with the same level of quality,” Ramirez said.
Meeting the moment
According to Ramirez, formulators in the flavorings space are always on the lookout for the “next pumpkin spice” — a flavor that dominates the food and beverage landscape.
“It has a short window, but so much consumer passion,” Ramirez said.
That passion for fall-themed flavors led the company to create Kettle Corn syrup after conducting consumer research.
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Part of Torani’s approach to new flavor innovation comes from mapping out major news events and how they fit into the zeitgeist. The company’s 2022 and 2023 flavored syrups of the year, Salted Egg Yolk and Toasted Black Sesame, respectively, were spawned out of Gen Z’s love for “Instagrammable” experiences, along with the growth of boba in Asian-inspired drinks.
Torani’s 2024 flavor of the year, Galaxy syrup, contains notes of raspberry, dark rum and “subtle minerality,” with a striking purple color, designed to be stirred into matcha, energy drinks and cold brew. The company consulted with a University of Virginia astronomy professor, Dr. Robin T. Garrod, to model the flavor from the compound Sagittarius B2, which Torani said gives raspberries their unique taste.
The Galaxy flavor was inspired by the solar eclipse this April, along with several other space launches scheduled to be conducted this year. The company also observed how much younger people are identifying with horoscopes and astrology.
“There are always occasions that happen cyclically, but then there are also these one-off events like the eclipse, and we want to figure out ways we can help bring that additional sensory experience,” Ramirez said. “It’s always fun to try to predict what’s next and whittle it down from over 100 or so ideas.”
Energy and functional beverages boom
While the company is always on the lookout for the latest idiosyncratic flavors, there are tectonic shifts in the beverage space where Torani is hoping to meet demand.
In the coming years, the company predicts both energy and functional drinks to continue skyrocketing. Ramirez cited BevNet Magazine and Circana figures which found energy drink volumes have grown to be worth $21 billion since 2021, with 51% growth. The sports drinks category similarly saw a 49% increase in volumes over the past three years, and is now worth roughly $4 billion.
“There are always occasions that happen cyclically, but then there are also these one-off events like the eclipse, and we want to figure out ways we can help bring that additional sensory experience.”
Andrea Ramirez
Consumer market insight manager at Torani
Two other trends popularized by young consumers are charting a path forward for the beverage industry: the sales boom of hydration beverages containing electrolytes — from Unilever’s Liquid I.V. packets to Prime soft drinks — and the growing use of reusable water bottles from brands like Stanley and Owala.
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Major beverage trends are largely playing out on social media. “WaterTok” — a portmanteau of water and TikTok — is a phenomenon where influencers combine hydration powder sticks and flavoring syrups with water to create new beverage concoctions.
Beyond the retail consumer space, Torani is also observing these mixology trends picking up in regional foodservice locations across the country that it believes will translate to retail. Some restaurants in Spokane, Washington are creating infused sports drinks. In the South, nutrition clubs are selling “loaded tea,” made with functional ingredients.
“There are certainly custom beverages still in their infancy that will have an opportunity over the next three to four years to percolate, including the flavor-infused energy drink category,” Ramirez said.
Despite its dalliances with unique flavor combinations, Ramirez said its most popular offerings remain grounded in its traditional pairings that were designed to add a bit of flavor to a cup of coffee.
“You want them to be cooler and sexier, but then you look at our best-selling flavors are and they’re variations of Caramel, Vanilla and Chocolate,” Ramirez said. “But sometimes that new innovation comes from foodservice adding a new twist to those, like salted vanilla.”
