The latest food and beverage industry news and trend analysis

Elite Robots has launched RoboBarista, a fully autonomous, cobot-powered coffee station designed to deliver up to 60 cups per hour while offering professional-grade latte art and remote management for high-traffic commercial operators.

Restaurant365 has strengthened its executive leadership team with the appointments of Steve Demchuk as Chief Product Officer and Mark Grilli as Chief Marketing Officer to accelerate the growth of its AI-powered back-office platform.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is leveraging the successful performance of its 2025 seasonal lineup by reintroducing the Dr Pepper Frost and extending the lifecycle of the Steakburger Taco, a strategic move designed to capitalise on high-velocity consumer feedback.

Costa Coffee has unveiled its 2026 summer menu across the United Kingdom, featuring eight new beverage SKUs, a strategic partnership with McVitie’s, and an expanded "Sweet Ube" range designed to capitalise on high-growth flavour trends in the iced coffee and refresher segments.

Dunkin’ has launched its national summer menu, headlined by a strategic entry into the "dirty soda" category and a multi-product collaboration with the OREO brand, aimed at capturing the high-growth seasonal beverage market through customisable Refreshers and reimagined frozen coffee formats.

Papa Johns has unveiled Lou AI, a next-generation ordering assistant built on Google Cloud’s Food Ordering agent, designed to eliminate the complexity of group orders and provide a personalised digital concierge experience within its mobile app.

Joe & the Juice has partnered with Maya Jama to launch a limited-edition collagen-infused matcha across its 91 UK locations, tapping into a category forecast to reach 77.5 million dollars by 2033.

McDonald's is set to launch a new permanent speciality drink lineup across nearly 14,000 US locations, utilising trending ingredients like cold foam and popping boba to transform the beverage category into a primary traffic driver.