Cold foam is tops for topping beverages, but is it really that new? After all, chilled whipped cream has been a hot chocolate topper for eons.
But today’s cold foams are slightly different. They may be flavored with coconut or matcha or boosted with protein powder and functional ingredients. Instead of topping hot cocoa, they are enhancing cold drinks — a category that is dominating the foodservice beverage market. And there’s been a surge in equipment and products designed to speed execution and meet cold foam demand.
“Starbucks reported that 75% of its sales come from cold beverages, and that much innovation in the space requires some additional ingredients, additional platforms, additional things to keep it interesting,” said Shannon O’Shields, VP of marketing for Rubix Foods, a provider of flavor and functional ingredients. “Only about 31% of consumers have actually tried cold foam, but the affinity rate is about 73%, meaning that of the people who have tried it, a good majority really like it. So you’re getting return purchases from those customers and there’s a massive runway for getting more consumers to try it.”
It’s debatable whether Starbucks was the first to introduce cold foam, but the Seattle-based coffee giant has certainly been a leading platform innovator. Starbucks has offered cold foam in flavors including salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate, banana, coconut, pumpkin, and more. And the chain’s protein cold foam, clocking in at 19-26 grams protein for a Grande-size drink, is available in many of the same flavors.
“The sweet, creamy texture of banana protein cold foam pairs beautifully with our smooth and vibrant matcha latte, creating a beverage that’s as protein packed as it is delicious,” said Sakhi Vijayakumar, beverage developer at Starbucks, in a statement.
Ube coconut cream cold foam at Starbucks. | Photo courtesy of Starbucks
This spring, Starbucks rolled out ube coconut cream cold foam as a topper for its Iced Ube Coconut Macchiato. The drink features layers of toasted coconut and milk with shots of espresso over ice, finished with a crown of the new ube coconut cream cold foam, which has notes of vanilla sweet cream balanced with toasted coconut. And the Lavender Cream Matcha has a topping of lavender cold foam. These toppers add pops of Instagrammable color to the items, and as the foams deflate, they seep into the beverages and infuse them with layers of flavor.
Dunkin’ has been keeping pace with a cold foam lineup of its own. Banana cold foam launched this spring on several new beverages, including the Banana Puddin’ Cloud Latte made with espresso, milk and banana flavor; the Monkey Business Cloud Latte swirled with butter pecan flavor and topped with banana cold foam; and Nutty Banana Cloud Dunkalatte, a blend of espresso, coffee milk, and hazelnut flavor topped with the cold foam. For matcha fans, the Canton, Massachusetts-based chain debuted Blueberry Pie Matcha with oat milk and blueberry flavor, finished with sweet cold foam and a dusting of cinnamon-sugar.
Dunkin's Nutty Banana Cloud Dunkalatte. | Photo courtesy of Dunkin'
“Operators are seeing cold foam not only as an opportunity to drive traffic, but as a margin opportunity,” said O’Shields. “If you go into Dunkin’ or Starbucks, on average they’re charging about $1.25 to add cold foam, and that’s a significant upcharge for an ounce or two of product. So the margin potential for operators is great.”
There are several products on the market that make cold foam easy to execute and cost-effective, with aerosol cans gaining popularity. At the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago last month, one exhibitor displayed cold foam in cans with flavors such as pistachio, white chocolate, marshmallow, strawberry, and pineapple-cherry. One can yields about 24 portions — a sizeable margin.
There are also pourable cold foam toppings in both dairy and nondairy versions. And some baristas make their own cold foam with a frother or blender, combining heavy cream and/or milk with a flavoring. Plant milks, like oat, coconut, and almond can be substituted. Unlike whipped cream, cold foam mixtures aren’t beaten until peaks form; rather they should double in volume and be foamy but pourable.
“It's really important that the cold foam doesn't have separation or break down and look bad in the drink,” said O’Shields. “Performance is one of the most critical aspects.”
Creating a beverage experience
Bubble tea concept Gong cha has been topping its drinks with cold foam for 20 years, said Gabriela “GG” Parck, director of training and certified tea sommelier at Gong cha Americas. The beverage chain calls its topper “milk foam,” and it can be flavored with matcha, strawberry, chocolate, brown sugar, and more.
“We use whole milk and our KitchenAid mixers to give the foam that beautiful, creamy consistency,” said Parck, without divulging the entire recipe. “It’s very unique, but at the same time, it’s something everybody in the stores can do without difficulty.”
Although Gong cha has been making milk foam for many years, it has become more of a draw recently. “Guests are looking for drinks that feel a bit more elevated, more customizable, and more visually appealing,” said Parck. “The first thing they do when they receive their beverage is look at the beautiful layers and watch the visual effects of the milk foam swirling into the drink. Then they take a picture of it.”
It’s all about premiumization.
Pistachio White Chocolate Milk Tea with Pistachio Foam. | Photo courtesy of Gong cha
Gong cha’s milk foam has savory notes, which contrast with the sweetness of the tea. And the tapioca pearls are glazed with brown sugar, adding another flavor element. “It’s an overall food experience, adding layers of texture, beautiful colors, and contrasting flavors. The layering and textural ingredients are making these drinks more popular,” she added. “People are looking for more premium beverages that appeal to all the senses.”
The 240 U.S. locations offer four types of tea, and the milk foam provides a different experience with each. With black tea, it mellows some of the bitterness, and with green tea, it brings out the floral notes. For the menu’s Milk Foam Series, the foam is included in the price of the drink. That collection includes Brown Sugar Milk Foam Oolong Tea, Milk Foam Watermelon Drink, Oreo Milk Foam Earl Grey Tea, Milk Foam Green Tea, and three other choices. But customers can add milk foam to any beverage for an extra 75 cents.
Parck is starting to see more dessert-like drinks coming in the next wave of cold foam creations. O’Shields agrees.
“From a flavor standpoint, one of the big things we’re tracking is the number of requests for dessert-driven, super-indulgent cold foam flavors, like cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie, or Boston Cream pie,” she said. Global flavors, like Starbucks’ ube and yuzu (the latter a cold foam option at Starbucks Reserve locations) are also on the rise. Spicy or savory cold foams also have possibilities. Gong cha introduced cheese foam as an LTO last year, a trend emerging from its locations in Asia.
Black Sheep promotes the wellness benefits of matcha cold foam. | Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Coffee
And with the success of protein cold foam, innovators are exploring other functional ingredients. “We’re starting to see some interest in adding fiber to cold foam,” said O’Shields, “as well as components to improve gut health. These are relatively easy to work into a cold foam formula without having a terrible taste to hide.”
Several beverage concepts have successfully incorporated matcha into cold foam, promoting its wellness benefits. Dallas-based Black Sheep Coffee introduced the Matcha Cloud earlier this month, a tropical-inspired drink made with coconut water, filled with natural electrolytes, poured over ice, and finished with ceremonial-grade Japanese matcha cold foam. The matcha cold foam can also be added to any beverage on the menu, extending Black Sheep Coffee’s Cold Foam platform beyond traditional coffee drinks.
On the other end of the spectrum are cold foam-topped espresso martinis. “Adding cold foam to a cocktail is a huge benefit from a margin standpoint,” said O’Shields. “We’ve done some research on the cost discrepancies between espresso martinis with a foam top vs. those without one, and the affinity for having foam on top is very high. Consumers see that as very valuable and bars can charge more.”