Oat drink manufacturer Oatly Group AB has published its second annual Future of Taste Report, outlining four central trends projected to reshape commercial beverage menus and hospitality operations across the global café sector.

Conducted in partnership with cultural insights agency CultureLab, the study integrates qualitative interviews with more than 200 baristas, café proprietors, mixologists, and beverage developers across 21 countries, complemented by quantitative macro-trend tracking. The findings highlight a structural pivot in café consumption: modern beverage programmes are extending far beyond traditional espresso matrices, driven by functional botanicals, fermented drinks, multisensory mouthfeel innovations, and the re-emergence of the café as a physical community anchor.

"This year's Future of Taste Report makes one thing very clear: people are expecting a lot more from their drinks," said Rowena Roos, Head of Food and Beverage Concepts (FADE) at Oatly.

Four Macro Trends Reshaping Café Menus

The report identifies four defining product development and consumer dynamics directing menu engineering:

🌿 The Pharmafication of Drinks

Commercial beverage developers are borrowing heavily from herbalism, natural medicine, and ancestral fermentation cultures to provide gentle functional attributes. Approximately 40% of surveyed drinks professionals identify herbs and botanicals as the leading force shaping future beverage flavours, led by ingredients such as ginger, hibiscus, and lavender. Concurrently, 56% of industry experts spontaneously cited fermentation, with traditional regional preparations including Mexican tepache, Slavic kvass, and Turkish şalgam emerging alongside mainstream kombucha.

☕ The Great Café Reconnection

Driven by remote-work arrangements and digital fatigue, consumer expectations of hospitality venues are pivoting toward physical community building. More than half of drinks professionals (51%) affirm that fostering connection and belonging will define the commercial viability of modern cafés. Operators are designing spaces tailored around specific communal interests, such as run clubs, matcha enthusiasts, high-end vinyl music rooms, and speciality coffee tastings, making social engagement as critical as liquid quality.

🥥 The End of the Flat White?

Traditional core coffee and tea staples are ceding menu share to alternative formats, with 82% of baristas and operators reporting growing customer adoption of non-traditional options. Modern ingredients such as ube were cited twice as frequently as standard flat whites or cappuccinos. Menus increasingly include functional refreshers, chilled botanical sodas, roasted hojicha, and coconut water, shifting daily ordering patterns from conventional morning espresso to all-day hydration.

🍮 The Squishy Boom

Sensory mouthfeel and visual presentation are rivalling taste in product formulation. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of beverage specialists state that physical texture is now as essential as flavour profiles, while 37% note that visual presentation is integral to purchasing decisions. Driven by viral interest—including a 90% year-on-year surge in global Google queries for "coffee jelly"—cafés are integrating boba-style jellies, effervescence, aerated foams, and distinct layers to construct tactile drinking experiences.

Formulation Concepts and Drink Prototypes

To illustrate the commercial execution of these macro trends, the report highlights four innovative beverage concepts developed using plant-based oat matrices:

🫒 Olive Sour: A savoury-forward formulation combining brined green olives, lemon juice, and vegetable extracts, crowned with an olive oil-infused Oatly Barista Cold Foam to deliver layered acidity and lipid body.

🍒 Goji Mont Blanc: An iced filter coffee sweetened with tangy goji berry syrup and finished with aerated Oatly Barista Cold Foam, reinterpreting traditional European pastry notes with functional superfruits.

🥥 Coconut Pandan Cloud: Blends espresso with coconut water and orange blossom mist, finished with cold-frothed oat foam infused with aromatic pandan leaves for a bitter, floral, and creamy profile.

🧋 Pannoat Cotta Thai Tea: A multi-textured format featuring a drinkable panna cotta base made with Oatly Barista Edition Coconut Flavour, layered beneath chilled, sweetened Thai tea.

Commercial Implications for Foodservice

The findings follow Oatly’s inaugural 2025 report, which anticipated the mainstream adoption of premium decaffeinated options, prebiotic dietary fibre fortification, and the permanent category integration of ceremonial matcha.

For commercial café chains and independent hospitality groups, the 2026 forecast underscores an urgent requirement to diversify beverage boards beyond standard milk-and-espresso builds. Introducing non-caffeinated botanical sodas, chewable gel textures, and high-margin cold foam modifications enables operators to capture off-peak afternoon trade, drive basket sizes, and recruit younger demographics seeking experiential and functional refreshments.