“Tea is a true wellness beverage,” says Nels Storm, manager of product development for Caribou Coffee, where tea is gaining momentum. Storm predicts that with all the press about tea’s health benefits, popularity will grow beyond green tea. Rooibos, an African red tea, is already making waves. “But there’s also been talk of going back to the traditional basic teas. Earl Grey and Darjeeling are a few sometimes-forgotten teas making another flight,” he says.

Tea is also popular at Comet Café in Milwaukee partly because it comes from a local company, Rishi Tea, that has developed a reputation and a following for its quality and social consciousness. Rishi Tea sells fair trade and organic, loose-leaf, flavored artisanal tea from Asia.

One of the most popular varietals is Scarlet tea. Café co-owner Valeri Lucks describes the blend as a refreshingly fruity. Green and mint teas also sell well, Lucks says.

Part of the rise in tea popularity comes from tea-bag improvements, says CIA’s DeSantis. The introduction of the pyramid-shaped tea bag opened the floodgates for whole-leaf teas.

“Big-name manufacturers are coming out with great, high-end, whole-leaf pyramid bags with hand-picked, first-growth teas,” he says.

Milking Milk

Nothing speaks for morning like milk. Thirty-eight percent of milk distribution in commercial foodservice occurs at breakfast, according to NPD Crest research. (Dinner accounts for 29 percent.)

While organic milk sales in the foodservice realm are generally flat, a few operators, like Starbucks and Panera Bread, give customers the option.

Though small, there is a consumer segment looking for organic, antibiotic-free milk, says Pawlak with Technomic. “Operators need to be cognizant of that to meet the needs of customers from diverse bases.”

The greatest surge in milk’s popularity has come from coffee varieties like lattes, mochas, and cappuccinos. This trend has led to at least two companies betting that the time has come for coffee-flavored milk.

At the retail level, Caribou Coffee has partnered with St. Paul, Minnesota­–based milk manufacturer Kemps, to develop Kemps Caribou Coffee Milk, which launched at the end of September 2008. The product uses fat-free milk as its base.

“It’s the ultimate high-energy milk with as much caffeine as a cup of black coffee,” says Randy Fricke, marketing manager for Kemp’s branded fluid dairy and cultured products. It’s a product he believes will appeal to teens and tweens, who already are into energy drinks.

Kemps also introduced a chocolate mocha flavored milk at the same time. The new items are available at retail in the Minnesota area, with plans to expand from there.

Beverage leader Nestlé is choosing a different direction. The company is looking at healthier and lighter versions of its existing milk offerings, says Stacey Kirkbride, Nestlé Professional marketing intelligence manager.

One of its most recent successful breakfast products is Nestle Chocolate Abuelita, created with the Hispanic market in mind. The spicy, cinnamon-flavored chocolate drink is based on a similar beverage popular in Mexico.

The Coffee Buzz

Coffee has been making its appearance at breakfast for decades, but what’s new is that nearly every market segment has developed specialty coffee programs over the past few years, Pawlak says. “From an operator standpoint, it’s a very good margin,” he says. “Anything they can do to bring in more customers when traffic is slow with a high-margin item is great.”

While overall coffee sales remain flat, specialty or gourmet coffee sales continue to increase about 20 percent a year, says Husein Kitabwalla, senior vice president for Sodexho Inc.’s Retail Brand Group subsidiary, which runs about 200 Jazzman’s Cafés.

Given the higher price point of the espresso/latte/mocha category juxtaposed against a fledgling economy, Kitabwalla sees a solution in the breakfast bundling of the drink with a hot breakfast sandwich or muffin. “It’s critical to provide a one-stop shop,” he says.

The free-spirit sense of tailor-made coffees is driving increased coffee consumption among students at the Jazzman’s Cafés located on college campuses. There, Oreo mochas and other coffee-based drinks with added protein and energy boosters and fat burners are making a splash. The combination of coffee and chocolate play to the more dessert-like breakfast alternatives students go for, Kitabwalla says.