The End of the Flat White? Oatly’s Future of Taste Report Identifies Four Key Trends Shaping Café Menus
MALMÖ, Sweden, October 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Oatly Group AB (publ) (Nasdaq: OTLY) (“Oatly”), the world’s original and largest oat drink company, has published its second Future of Taste Report. It brings together more than 200 interviews with baristas, café owners, mixologists and drinks experts across 21 countries, alongside quantitative trends data compiled by researchers CultureLab, to identify the trends expected to shape café menus in the coming months.
The report points to a potential overhaul of coffee menus on the horizon, with a growing interest in botanical and fermented ingredients, a boom in non-coffee and tea orders, and – with the rise of innovations like coffee jelly – “texture” playing an increasingly starring role.
Rowena Roos, Oatly Head of FADE said:
“This year’s Future of Taste Report makes one thing very clear: people are expecting a lot more from their drinks. They want more excitement, more texture, and more functionality. From wellness drinks with real personality to global flavours, playful textures and cafés at the core of actual human connection, menus are becoming far more expressive. It’s been exciting to hear how many creators see oat drink as a brilliant starting point for that creativity, allowing baristas and café teams to build drinks people don’t just order but remember.”
1. THE PHARMAFICATION OF DRINKS: Herbs, botanicals and fermented ingredients are moving further into everyday drinks, as cafés borrow from wellness, nature and traditional food cultures. 40% of drinks professionals say herbs and botanicals will shape the future of flavour, making them the number one taste trend in the report. Ginger, hibiscus and lavender are among the ingredients gaining attention, while 56% of experts spontaneously mentioned fermentation. Alongside kombucha, drinks such as tepache, kvass and Turkish şalgam are starting to appear on the radar.
Olive Sour
Salty olives and brine mix with refreshing lemon and vegetable juice. Topped with an olive oil Oatly Barista Cold Foam.
“I think we will see more ingredients connected to nature, fermentation and regionality: herbs, flowers, botanicals, tea, fermented fruits and local ingredients. People are becoming interested in flavours that tell a story.” — Lara Sosna, Forkk Studio, Germany.
2. THE GREAT CAFÉ RECONNECTION: With the rise of AI and at-home working, cafés are taking on a bigger role as places to meet, spend time and find community. 51% of drinks experts say belonging, community or connection will be central to the future of cafés. That could mean specialist coffee communities, matcha groups, music-led spaces or cafés built around other shared interests. The drink still matters, but increasingly, so does what happens around it.
Goji Mont Blanc
Iced filter with sweet and tangy goji berry syrup, topped with Oatly Barista Cold Foam. The classic format reinvented with a twist.
“The real value of a product isn’t just what it does but its ability to create relationships between people.” — Marco Purini, Coffee Industry Professional, Italy
3. THE END OF THE FLAT WHITE? Coffee and tea are no longer the only drinks competing for space on the café menu. 82% of baristas and café owners mentioned drinks that were neither tea nor coffee. Ube was mentioned twice as often as the flat white or cappuccino, while refreshers, botanical sodas, fermented drinks, hojicha, coconut and hibiscus are also finding their way onto menus. The result is a café menu that looks increasingly different from the one we’re used to.
Coconut Pandan Cloud
Coconut, espresso and orange blossom water meld together with the floral and coconutty notes of the pandan Oatly Cold Foam. Floral, bitter, creamy and very definitely not your usual latte.
“We sell more hydration drinks than any other drink now.” — Flo Thomas, Batch Baby, London
4. THE SQUISHY BOOM: For many drinkers, flavour is only part of the appeal. Texture and appearance are becoming part of the order too. 72% of beverage experts say mouthfeel is becoming as important as flavour. Jelly, foam, fizz, chewy toppings, fruit pieces and layered drinks are all part of this shift. Looks matter too, with 37% of experts saying how a drink looks is integral to its appeal. Whilst, google searches for coffee jelly are up 90% year-on-year globally.
Pannoat Cotta Thai Tea
A thick slurpable pannoat cotta made with Oatly Barista Edition Coconut Flavour is the base of this texture rich beverage. Topped with a creamy Thai tea mix.
Nobody orders cold foam for the taste; they order it for the feeling. Texture has become its own language, separate from flavour.” — Diego Mata, Nuwanda, Valencia
The findings build on Oatly’s 2025 Future of Taste report, which correctly identified the rise of decaf, the proliferation of fiber-focused drinks and the staying power of matcha beyond a passing fad.
Read the full report at: oatly.com/future-of-taste
View Oatly’s Lookbook – our take on upcoming trends and recipes – here: oatly.com/lookbook
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For more information or interview requests contact: Lucy Lamming, Head of Global Communications, lucy.lamming@oatly.com
About Oatly
We are the world’s original oat drink company. For over 30 years, we have exclusively focused on developing expertise around oats: a global power crop with inherent properties. Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, the Oatly brand is available in more than 60 countries globally. As well as being dairy- and soy free, Oatly’s fortified drinks benefit from the inherent goodness of oats and typically contain vitamins and minerals including calcium, riboflavin and vitamins B12 and D. They’re low in salt and saturated fats — and best of all, they have a consistently lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk.[1] 2025 saw Oatly recognised as the world’s first Climate Solutions food and beverage company.
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* CultureLab Navigate Data 2026
** 285 Baristas Interviewed across 21 countries
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