From dirty sodas and coffee to energy infusions and tea, fast-food brands have been stepping up their beverage game, introducing new flavors and drink categories to attract guests and boost frequency. At the same time, beverage-led brands are expanding their food offerings. While drinks remain the focus, adding snackable menu items has proven to be an effective strategy for increasing check averages, enhancing the guest experience, and driving incremental sales.
“If you look at a lot of the different data that’s been surfaced, the upcoming generations really like to snack and eat throughout the day,” says Susan Taylor, CEO of Juice It Up!, a roughly 100-unit smoothie and juice chain. “It’s not the traditional three occasions anymore.”
Juice It Up! has long offered better-for-you snacks like chips, bars, and cookies, but a more significant food expansion wasn’t on the table until recently. Last year, the chain introduced its first systemwide food items beyond beverages and bowls with the launch of pretzel bites. Available in butter and salt or cinnamon and sugar, the snack-sized items debuted in June and quickly became a hit, driving up average check sizes. The brand built on that momentum in September with maple and blueberry toasted portable waffles, leading to food sales doubling in the second half of the year.
Since then, Juice It Up! has continued expanding its food lineup, testing a selection of sweet and savory toasts at select locations late last year. Now, the company is gearing up for a full launch this spring.
When Taylor joined the company five years ago, Juice It Up! didn’t have a formal testing protocol for new products. Since then, the brand has identified the best stores to serve as testing grounds and now pilots all potential systemwide menu additions a year in advance—within the same timeframe they’d launch as an LTO or permanent menu item. Operational feasibility is also a key factor.
“We’re 99 percent franchise owned,” Taylor says. “I want to make sure that if I’m asking somebody to spend the money to train their team, to buy the product, to potentially buy new equipment, that it’s going to have a good return on investment for them.”
Juice It Up! also taps into its loyalty program to gauge guest interest, directly asking its most frequent customers what menu additions they’d like to see. At the same time, the company carefully considers what aligns with the brand’s identity. While a cheeseburger or candy wouldn’t fit, there’s still room for flexibility.
“We’re not so rigid that it has to be the absolutely healthiest snack in the world,” Taylor says. “There are different need-states that people have when they snack and different dietary needs. So, we’re looking at all the different things that we could possibly do, or that we can bring in and test and get feedback from the guests on that could check a box for different people.”
Taylor sees the lines between beverage concepts blurring, giving brands more freedom to innovate outside their traditional lanes. The key is striking the right balance—offering variety while staying true to the brand’s core identity.
“The consumer today isn’t saying, ‘I’ll only come to you for smoothies, juices, and bowls and these certain types of snacks, and then I’ll only go to a coffee place for this other type of thing,’” Taylor says. “You’re starting to see a lot of similar snack items being offered on the menu across the whole beverage segment, and guests are starting to expect that when they come into different places.”
PJ’s Coffee has significantly evolved its food offerings over the past five to six years, maintaining a balance between indulgent treats and more protein-centric options to meet changing consumer preferences.
“It really used to be like, ‘Here’s your coffee shop set up. Here’s your muffins, your scones, your croissants. Maybe we’ll throw in a bagel,’” says VP of marketing Reid Nolte. “You really had this very carb-centric formula to your coffee shop.”
Today, there’s greater demand for two key elements: protein and indulgence. The rise of egg bites and breakfast sandwiches, like bacon, egg, and cheese or sausage biscuits, has reshaped morning menus to cater to consumers’ desire for protein.
“We’re starting to see our PMIX be a little bit more elastic in the food category, where it’s not just about getting a coffee and croissant, but also getting coffee and pairing it with a protein,” Nolte says. “But we still go after our classic croissants and stuff like that. We don’t shy away from that indulgent side of people.”
Balancing indulgence with more protein-centric options is the first key food trend at PJ’s lately. The second is their popular beignets, which have become a signature offering.
“Being a New Orleans concept, we launched beignets at our store about five to six years ago,” Nolte says. “It’s really really been a luxury for us with the technology advancing with these tabletop fryers. We don’t need a grease trap. We don’t need a hood. So, the cost of building out a coffee shop isn’t getting astronomical. With this tabletop fryer, we can do a classic New Orleans beignet and have that fun, indulgent type of escapism with coffee in the morning.”
Food now accounts for about a third of PJ’s sales, and it’s becoming a more significant part of the overall business, helping boost average ticket sizes.
“Let’s say we sell a cup of coffee for a median SRP of $6,” Nolte says. “If we can tack on a pastry and get that ticket average to $9 or $9.50, it’s a big win for our stores just increasing our AUV throughout the year.”
Driving food pairings beyond the breakfast rush has become another focus. Whether it’s sweeter snacks in the afternoon or a breakfast sandwich for a quick lunch, PJ’s is tapping into new opportunities throughout the day.
“The way I look at it is that the morning daypart is about habitual buying behavior,” Nolte says. “People have their routine and they’re locked in. The afternoon is when you can win them for something that’s more indulgent, more of a surprise and delight.”
Looking ahead, PJ’s is thinking about how to expand its beignet offerings, emphasizing portability and functionality. Testing beignet bites with chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut dipping sauces is one such initiative to make the product easier for customers to enjoy on the go.
“It’s becoming more about the functionality of the product,” Nolte says. “Can we take this beignet and make it more portable so you’re not making a complete fool out of yourself when you’re eating and driving at the same time or you’re not getting powdered sugar all over your car? How can I transport this easier and make it a better experience?”
He also reflects on how the evolution of food at beverage-led concepts is reshaping the competitive landscape. With brands extending their reach into the afternoon and beyond, food innovation is critical to staying competitive.
“The morning daypart is competitive, and I think there are a lot of brands trying to figure out how they either stand out there or how they expand that morning daypart into the afternoon,” Nolte says. “That’s where you’re seeing the food innovations. That’s where you’re seeing portability really becoming a priority, too.”
