• by Teresa Buyikian , February 27, 2025

Coffee may be the fuel that many consumers feel they need every morning to get the day moving, but according to the latest findings from market research firm Technomic, that may not hold true for younger coffee drinkers.

Technomic this week released its latest QSR and fast casual research findings, highlighting coffee drinker’s changing habits as well as how Mexican restaurants continue to grow  in popularity.

As coffee beans and production prices have increased (NBC recently reported that one pound of arabica beans costs more than $4 on the commodity markets for the first time in history) the effects trickle down to consumers facing higher prices for their daily grind. Financial market research firm Empower reported that “On average, coffee prices across the United States have increased by approximately 14% from 2021 to 2024.”

Yet millennials, Gen X and boomers are the least likely demos to change their coffee consumption habit. It’s the younger java drinks who will cut back or alter their habits to save a few dollars. Per Technomic, as compared to the 35 and older set, “younger consumers are much more likely to reduce coffee consumption overall or are trading down to less-expensive options.” Additionally, this same group of 18- to 34-year-olds also said they were now opting for restaurants with lower-priced coffee drinks.

The study also looked at recent trends in Mexican QSRs and fast casual, in particular Chipotle and Taco Bell. Both chains did well in 2024, with Chipotle’s same-store sales increasing 5.4% ,and Taco Bell also increasing 5.0% in the fourth quarter as compared to 2023. Both companies have enjoyed consistent growth since 2020.

Technomic’s research also took a look at the top-selling U.S. menu items and ingredients in the fourth quarter of 2024. The actual total number of items ordered per visit increased 9.2% over 2023. Desserts had the biggest increase (13.3%), which Technomic attributed to the addition of cake options to menus, especially chocolate cake and cheesecake.

The top-selling ingredients used are mostly in the vegetable category, including Jimmy Nardello peppers (+10.67%), cascabel peppers (+100.0%), savoy cabbage (+87.5%), chanterelle (+78.1%) and honeynut squash (+72.0%). Health and regenerative farming practices hasvealso taken foothold, with increases in local (+23.0%), milk-fed (+15.6%), sustainable (+11.5%), pasture-raised (+11.1%) and free range (+10.4%) ingredients. Condiments looked toward international tastes, with Indonesian sambal (+34.8%), Indian tomato chutney (+31.3%) and Italian gremolata (+30.4%) on the increase.