Consumers may be watching their spending, but specialty beverages are an affordable way to treat themselves. From flavored cold brews to dirty sodas, these drinks deliver the taste and experience of something indulgent without the expense of a full restaurant meal.
That opens up a world of opportunities for quick-service restaurants. Familiar dairy ingredients can help operators develop distinctive drinks, introduce seasonal offerings, and give guests more reasons to explore the beverage menu.
TikTok and other social platforms can turn a beverage trend into a customer expectation almost overnight. For operators, dirty sodas offer a way to capitalize on that interest using familiar fountain beverages and flavored dairy ingredients.
Tara Mattingly, regional sales manager for Saputo, recently heard from a pizza operator who wanted to launch dirty sodas at several locations. The customer traditionally purchased only provolone from Saputo, but reached out for advice on cold foam flavors.
Mattingly recommended Saputo’s™ Sweet Cream Cold Foam because it works with a variety of beverages. “The orange Fanta is awesome because it tastes like a creamsicle,” she says. “We’ve also done it with hot and cold coffee, and with Dr. Pepper.”
Cold foam adds a creamy layer to coffee, soda, and other beverages, but the ingredients behind that texture matter. Saputo’s cold foam starts with real cream, which Mattingly says gives it an advantage over non-dairy alternatives.
“It’s a lot creamier, has a better mouthfeel, and is smoother,” she says. “It’s real full dairy flavor.”
For operators developing premium beverages, taste and texture can help distinguish a specialty drink from its everyday counterpart.
Some of the most inventive dairy applications on the beverage menu have little to do with coffee. Mattingly recalls a brewery in Maryland and Delaware that used a competitor’s frozen ice cream mix base to supply lactose for its sour ale. A Saputo broker introduced the brewery to the company’s extended-shelf-life, 14-percent ice cream mix, which the customer adopted for its sour ale and craft cocktails.
Dairy can also add a premium touch to familiar cocktails. For example, Saputo’s Sweet Cream Cold Foam gives an espresso martini a creamy finish without requiring bartenders to prepare foam from scratch.
A specialty beverage program needs to work during a busy shift. Preparing cold foam from scratch takes time, and results can vary depending on who makes it.
Saputo’s ready-to-use aerosol cold foam eliminates that prep time and labor. Employees simply shake the can and spray the cold foam directly onto beverages with no premixing or special equipment required, which delivers a more consistent product.
The company’s national manufacturing network also supports restaurants as they expand their beverage programs. With 29 plants across the United States and distribution through major foodservice suppliers, the company offers multiple sources of supply. Operators who already purchase Saputo dairy products can simply add cold foam to existing orders.
Operators don’t need unfamiliar ingredients to create new menu experiences. Familiar flavors like caramel, hazelnut, vanilla, and sweet cream work across hot and iced beverages, while seasonal combinations offer opportunities for limited-time offerings.
And the possibilities extend beyond beverages. Saputo’s™ flavored portion-control creamers, including French Vanilla and Hazelnut, can add flavor to oatmeal, while their Extra Creamy Whipped Topping offer additional ways to customize breakfast favorites like waffles, French toast and pancakes.
The takeaway for operators: Ingredients already in the kitchen may have more uses than their original purpose suggests.
Explore Saputo’s foodservice dairy solutions by visiting their website.
By Davina van Buren
