While the taste of your coffee is essential, the quality of your ice plays a significant role in your overall coffee experience.
Case in point: Starbucks, one of the largest coffee chains worldwide, recently announced its decision to switch to nugget ice. On your morning Starbucks run, you may notice that instead of blocky ice cubes, your iced Starbucks drinks contain pearly ice nuggets. What’s the reasoning behind this move, and why is Starbucks changing their ice? In this blog post, we'll get the scoop behind Starbucks' latest ice evolution and the significance of ice on your drink experience.
It’s no secret that cool is where it’s at—especially at Starbucks where cold drinks represent 75% of the coffee giant’s sales. More people than ever are ditching the steaming cup of joe and opting for an iced coffee from Starbucks.
With a customer base devoted to Starbucks’ iced drinks, switching to an ice type that is ideal for iced coffees, refreshers, and cold brews is good business sense—plain and simple.
Nugget ice, also known as pellet ice or Sonic ice, has come a long way over the past few years. Initially, this type of ice was a prevalent choice among healthcare facilities to aid patients with swallowing difficulties. However, over time, the demand for nugget ice extended to various industries, including hotel establishments and convenience stores.
People overwhelmingly love nugget ice for its dense crunchy texture and super-cooling abilities, leading more and more restaurants to invest in a commercial nugget ice machine—and Starbucks has now joined the ranks.
With the move toward nugget ice, Starbucks is making a smart business decision that keeps their customers happy with a consistent, elevated drink experience. However, Starbucks’ nugget ice choice isn’t just about making the best iced Starbucks drink—it’s also a smart move based on the cold, hard numbers.
Nugget ice makers (also known as pearl nugget ice makers) tend to be more energy efficient and use less water, which puts Starbucks in a financially smart position to keep a little green in their pocket and keep their customers happy.