Caribou Coffee is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and menu innovation has shifted from hot drinks to cold in the years since. Gretchen Hashemi-Rad, beverage category manager for the 400-plus chain, says sales of cold coffee and other icy beverages outpace hot coffees and teas—especially among younger consumers and even in the winter.
Listen as she talks about how Caribou is changing up the menu to meet that demand, with equipment upgrades, energy drinks, blended and sparkling mocktails and its own bubble tea, and why the brand is carefully timing the start of pumpkin spice season to build anticipation.