Dunkin’ is eliminating coconut milk from its menu at United States locations at the end of the year, meaning an end to its Coconut Refreshers, the quick-service chain confirmed.
“Although Dunkin’ is indeed bidding farewell to coconut milk at locations nationwide in 2023, new and exciting beverage innovations are on the horizon in 2024 to provide guests with a growing variety of both coffee and non-coffee drinks to enjoy. Guests will still be able to enjoy all of their favorite Dunkin’ drinks with non-dairy substitutes, including almond milk and oat milk,” the company said in a statement.
“Dunkin’ Refresher fans will still be able to order the iced beverage in their favorite flavor (Mango Pineapple or Strawberry Dragonfruit) with a green tea base,” it added.
Dunkin’ Refreshers are a line of non-coffee-based fruit-flavored drinks that until the end of the year can be made with either green tea or coconut milk.
Coconut milk has seen a small decline in its presence on menus in the past year, according to Technomic’s Ignite menu data.
The dairy substitute and staple in many Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines is currently on 10.8% of menus, the restaurant research firm said, down by 0.1%.
That’s in contrast to almond milk, which has grown on menus by 6.1%, and oat milk, which has grown by 15.9%.
Those ingredients still have a smaller presence on menus than coconut milk, however. Almond milk is in 2.1% of restaurants and oat milk is in 1%.
Soy milk is on 2.2% of menus, down by 8.6%.
Dunkin’, based in Canton, Mass., is a subsidiary of Inspire Brands, which is based in Atlanta. It franchises more than 13,200 restaurants worldwide.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
