Drink trends for autumn 2020: our top picks

As the hospitality industry springs back to life and customer numbers are on the up, make sure you’re on top of the latest 2020 drink trends to keep your menu fresh and enticing. Rum and fizz cocktail, anyone?

Wellness drinks

From coconut water to juice cleanses, the wellness drinks trend is here to stay. But what is a wellness drink? Generally speaking, they are drinks that have ingredients that can support and boost health.

Kombucha and kefir are both fermented drinks known for promoting good gut health, thanks to their probiotic content. While kefir is made from milk, kombucha is made from sweetened tea (and is suitable for vegans). If you have the time, you can have fun cultivating your own or, you can buy kombucha and kefir ready-made in bottles as well.

Rum cocktails

Will an old kid on the block knock gin off its customer-favourite pedestal? Spiced rum is set to make a comeback and is threatening to catch up with gin, according to the Wine and Spirits Trade Association. Rum sales rose 7% in 2019, outpacing vodka and brandy and gin sales are set to slow down as the market becomes oversaturated. So, it’s time to put those rum cocktails back to the top of your drinks list.

Spiced lattes

Customers eagerly anticipate the arrival of spiced lattes each year; they’ve almost become the marker of the start of autumn. Social media is full of pictures of ‘double shot non-fat soy milk chai with double syrup, pumpkin spice and whipped cream lattes’, but upgrading your menu to include spiced coffee needn’t be complicated. It is as simple as adding ½ tsp ground ginger and ½ tsp cinnamon to instant coffee or espresso shots and topping with whipped cream.

Pre-mixed cocktails

Lockdown forced everyone to adapt, including customers. Swapping Friday nights at the pub for drinks over video calls has seen the sale of takeaway cocktails become popular. From Gordon Ramsey’s York & Albany bar in Camden, London, to Flok in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, bars are finding that there is definitely a demand.

Sam Boulton, MD at the Vanguard Bar in Birmingham says they’re here to stay: “We’ve had great success in selling pre-mixed cocktails for collection from our bar and via delivery. As we already had an off-trade licence, this wasn’t difficult to do. The venture has opened us up to a new demographic of customers who wouldn’t usually go out to drink but enjoy a good quality cocktail at home. For this reason, we’ve decided to continue offering this service post-lockdown to bring in additional revenue.”