Category Deep Dive: The Cold Side of Coffee

Why cold coffee is taking off... and the data to prove it

Let's talk about the hottest (or should I say coolest?) trend in the beverage world right now: iced coffee.

It's not just a summer fling anymore—cold coffee has become a year-round obsession, and the numbers are pretty jaw-dropping.

The primary culprit? You guessed it: Starbucks. Our go-to barometer for coffee trends recently dropped some eye-opening stats. In Q3 2023, a whopping 75% of their beverage sales across 15,800+ US stores were cold drinks. That's three out of every four drinks! Their cold espresso sales alone grew by 13% year-over-year. Clearly, people aren't just tolerating cold coffee—they're craving it.

But it's not just Starbucks riding this frosty wave. Take Wandering Bear Coffee, for instance. Known for their strong, organic cold brew in those quirky bag-in-box cartons, they've seen incredible growth. We're talking a 288% increase in sales volume in just one year, according to Particl data. Their top seller, the Cold Brew On Tap 96 oz, was moving 163 units per day on aver…