This article has been produced and shared by Monin

From maple-pecan comfort and colourful matcha to indulgent iced drinks, the latest coffee trends offer chefs and foodservice operators new ways to increase menu appeal, encourage customisation and generate additional margin.

Coffee continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience. The UK coffee shop market is now valued at £11.9 billion across more than 25,500 outlets, while weekly out-of-home coffee penetration has increased from 13% in 2022 to 15.1% in 2025.

However, as operating costs remain under pressure, seasonal drinks must do more than simply look appealing. They need to be easy to understand, quick to prepare and sufficiently distinctive to justify a premium price.

For chefs and operators, the opportunity is to use a quality coffee foundation, alongside versatile flavour solutions that can transform familiar favourites into seasonal signatures. For wholesalers, it means offering a focused range that supports hot drinks, iced coffees, matcha, frappés and other profitable menu occasions.

Customisation Continues to Add Value

Flavour remains one of the simplest ways to increase the perceived value of a coffee.

Almost six in ten consumers say customisable beverages are important to their coffee shop experience, rising to 69% among those aged under 35. More than half have requested a flavoured syrup during the past year, while 81% are prepared to pay an additional charge for syrup.

This gives operators a relatively straightforward opportunity: start with drinks customers already recognise, then introduce flavour-led seasonal variations that can support a higher selling price without adding significant preparation time.

Caramel, Vanilla, Salted Caramel and Hazelnut remain established favourites, providing wholesalers with dependable year-round volume. For seasonal menus, emerging flavours such as Maple Pecan, White Chocolate, Toasted Marshmallow, Apple and Banana can introduce novelty while remaining familiar enough to encourage trial.

Maple and Pecan Deliver Comfort with a Twist

Comforting, bakery-inspired drinks are set to remain prominent throughout autumn and winter. Maple and Pumpkin were the only two established seasonal coffee flavours to increase in popularity year on year, while maple-and-pecan combinations appeared across lattes, chai drinks, matcha and smoothies.

MONIN Maple Pecan Pie syrup brings together golden maple sweetness, roasted pecan character and smooth caramel notes. It taps directly into the demand for nostalgic, dessert-inspired flavours but offers the versatility required by modern foodservice operations. The syrup can be used across hot and iced coffees, frappés, teas, cocktails and alcohol-free drinks. 

Maple Pecan Pie Latte

Ingredients

• 20ml MONIN Maple Pecan Pie syrup
• Double espresso
• 220ml milk of choice
•  

Method

Pour the syrup and espresso into a heatproof glass or mug and stir to combine. Add steamed milk and serve.

Why it works: The recipe uses a familiar latte format while adding the comforting flavour of a bakery treat. It can also be served iced, helping operators use one seasonal flavour across different temperatures and dayparts.

Iced Coffee Has Become an All-Year Opportunity

Iced drinks are no longer restricted to warm weather. Iced coffee remains the most frequently ordered iced beverage in coffee shops, while 22% of consumers now report drinking it at least weekly. The proportion of consumers who never drink iced coffee has also fallen year on year.

For chefs, cafés, hotels and food-to-go operators, this means autumn and winter menus should include at least one iced seasonal special. Dessert flavours, layered drinks and visually distinctive toppings can make iced coffee feel relevant even as temperatures fall.

Apple is perfectly suited to colder-season iced menus. Its crisp, tart flavour cuts through milk, coffee and caramel, while familiar flavours such as apple pie, apple crumble and the growing “dirty apple” trend give operators an easy-to-tell seasonal story.

Toffee Apple Frappé

Ingredients

• 15ml MONIN Granny Smith Apple fruit mix
• 20ml MONIN Caramel syrup
• One scoop MONIN Vanilla frappé powder
• 150ml milk of choice
• One glass of ice

Method

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into a glass and finish with whipped cream and MONIN Caramel sauce.

Why it works: It translates a familiar autumn occasion into an indulgent drink while allowing the same Apple and Caramel products to be used elsewhere across the menu.

Matcha Moves into the Mainstream

Iced Matcha has entered the list of the UK’s most popular iced coffee-shop beverages for the first time. The UK matcha market was estimated to be worth £45.4 million in 2024 and is projected to reach £72 million by 2030.

Matcha drinkers are also more likely than coffee drinkers to visit venues with friends and are twice as likely to share their drinks on social media. This makes matcha particularly valuable for afternoon trade, younger customers and visually led digital marketing.

MONIN Matcha Green Tea concentrate has been developed to make the category easier to execute. Made with matcha extract, it requires no whisk, sieve or vigorous mixing, helping operators produce consistent drinks quickly and with less staff training. It can be used in hot or iced lattes, frappés, lemonades, cocktails and mocktails.

Iced Blueberry Matcha

Ingredients

• 30ml MONIN Matcha Green Tea concentrate
• 15ml MONIN Blueberry fruit mix
• 150ml milk of choice
• Ice

Method

Add the Blueberry fruit mix and milk to a glass filled with ice and stir. Gently pour the Matcha concentrate over the top to create a layered finish.

Why it works: Blueberry introduces seasonal fruit flavour and creates a highly visual layered serve, while the concentrate removes many of the operational barriers traditionally associated with matcha preparation.

Familiar Drinks, Reimagined

Hot Chocolate and Mocha recorded the largest year-on-year increases among popular coffee-shop drinks, reinforcing the importance of indulgence during colder months.

White Chocolate, Toasted Marshmallow, Cinnamon Roll, Gingerbread and Banana Bread-inspired flavours can help operators reinterpret these established categories. Rather than building an entirely new menu, chefs can apply one flavour across several recognised formats:

• A Toasted Marshmallow Latte, Mocha or Hot Chocolate
• A White Chocolate Matcha or seasonal Mocha
• A Banana Bread Iced Latte or Frappé
• A Cinnamon Roll Latte, Chai or Hot Chocolate

This approach gives customers novelty while helping teams maintain speed, consistency and ingredient control.

A Focused Range Can Work Harder

For wholesalers, autumn and winter success is not necessarily about stocking every available flavour. It is about combining dependable volume drivers with carefully selected seasonal innovations.

A strong range could include Caramel, Vanilla, Hazelnut, Salted Caramel and Chai Tea alongside Maple Pecan Pie, Matcha Green Tea, White Chocolate, Toasted Marshmallow and a versatile fruit flavour such as Apple, Banana or Blueberry.

Supporting these products with recipe cards, pumps, digital content and simple menu suggestions can help customers move from purchasing an ingredient to creating a profitable drinks programme.

For operators, the formula is equally straightforward: begin with quality coffee, add an on-trend flavour and deliver it through a familiar, easy-to-execute format.

Because when seasonal inspiration, operational simplicity and premium flavour come together, there is MONIN for that.

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