A new report from Oatly is challenging one of café culture's most enduring staples — the flat white — as part of a broader look at how specialty beverage menus are evolving. The company's Future of Taste Report identifies four key trends it says are actively reshaping what operators put on their menus and what customers are ordering.
The report arrives at a pivotal moment for foodservice beverage programs. Independent cafés and restaurant beverage programs alike are under pressure to differentiate, as consumer palates shift and plant-based milk alternatives move from niche to mainstream across the specialty coffee segment.
What Operators Should Watch
While the full breakdown of all four trends was not detailed in the release, the report's framing around the potential decline of the flat white signals a larger conversation about legacy espresso formats and whether they still anchor contemporary café identity. For operators, that question carries real menu-engineering weight — from milk alternative pairings to roast profiles and drink architecture.
Oatly, as a leading oat milk brand with deep roots in the specialty coffee channel, is well-positioned to shape this conversation. Its products appear on bar programs at independent cafés and multi-unit hospitality operators globally, giving the company meaningful data on preparation trends and consumer preferences at the point of service.
Plant-Based Beverages in Foodservice
The plant-based beverage category has matured considerably over the past several years, and café menus have been one of the clearest proving grounds. Oat milk in particular has moved from a barista novelty to a default option at many specialty coffee shops, a shift reflected in how restaurant beverage coverage and trade research increasingly treat alternative milks as a baseline rather than a premium add-on.
For operators evaluating their beverage programs heading into 2026 and beyond, trend intelligence from category suppliers — especially those with direct visibility into high-volume café environments — carries practical value. Reports like this one can inform seasonal menu development, staff training priorities, and procurement decisions tied to the evolving specialty coffee landscape.
The Future of Taste Report reflects a growing pattern among major foodservice ingredient and beverage brands: publishing forward-looking research to position themselves as strategic partners to operators, not just product vendors. Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked this trend across multiple categories as suppliers compete for mindshare alongside shelf space.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
