From 2024 flavor of the year to summertime menu hero, retailers and CPG companies continue to experiment with peach-inspired ingredients to innovate today’s offerings.
There’s little doubt – peaches are in, finding their way into beverages across myriad channels. In March, Red Bull launched its Summer Edition White Peach energy drink, while cafés such as Peet’s Coffee and chains including Hardee’s and Chik-Fil-A integrate the summer staple into their menus.
Over the past year, the fruit has become a more coveted indulgence, with social conversations about peaches increasing by 9.6%. Additionally, a peach component can now be found on 19.8% of domestic menus, according to a recent report from Tastewise.
Although it dominated a “share of discussion” last summer across social media, recipes, and menus, data from earlier this year suggests the positive slope will return this summer with abandon. Already, restaurants are investing in the offering’s cultural cache by playing into its experiential components.
“There’s something about the Peach Milkshake that really feels like the start of summer,” said Allison Duncan, Chick-fil-A’s director of menu and packaging, in a statement.
The chain brought back the seasonal Peach Milkshake on June 9 while also launching the Peach Frosted Lemonade. Duncan’s comment identifies that, for modern consumers, the summertime crop augurs the start of the season.
Hardee’s is also mixing peach with lemon in its Peach Lemonade offering, which rolled out alongside its take on the summertime Peach Milkshake.
Tapping into the cultural cache of nostalgic flavors and experiences, the combination of peach and lemon evokes summertime flavors reminiscent of hero offerings from legacy brands, such as Snapple’s Half n’ Half (half lemonade, half iced tea) or the iconic Arizona Arnold Palmer, but with a peach twist.
Snapple recently made its own explicit connection between peach and lemon with its Peach Iced Tea + Lemonade. Parent company Keurig Dr. Pepper also launched 7UP Tropical, which incorporates peach flavor notes, alongside the Snapple addition. Eric Gorli, president of U.S. refreshment beverages, cited “modern twists on familiar favorites” and “consumer-centric innovations” as the north star for the portfolio updates.
Shannon O’Shields, VP of marketing at Rubix Foods, told The Food Institute that younger audiences are seeking out novelty in their foodservice offerings.
“They gravitate toward nostalgia, but with a twist. They’re looking for that ‘I’ve had this before, but not like this!’ the marketing expert said.
Peach can offer a compelling counterpoint to legacy beverages, as its sweet flavor is independently associated with the summer while offering a bright flavor component to the standard beverage lineup.
Further challenging this playful element of peach flavor innovation, Peet’s Coffee is placing the fruit in its Sparkling Peach Matcha and Sparkling Peach Chill Brew coffee offerings, creating a combination of fruity coffee and fruity tea infusions. The drinks incorporate fruit juice into coffee or tea products, topped with club soda.
These innovations, as well as Peet’s On the Beach, which includes peach and pineapple juice mixed with black tea, represent a push from the company toward cocktail-inspired zero-proof solutions, according to Kristina Roach, senior director of omnichannel brand marketing for the chain.
Peet’s play suggests it is doubling down on younger audiences who are not only fond of its flavor but who also crave unique menu risks and tend to lead teetotaler or sober-curious lifestyles.
Consumers can look forward to a host of peach-enhanced beverages as they head into the summer.
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