Elizabeth Rodriguez

It’s no surprise that the Red Velvet Cream Cold Brew was a top-selling, must-have LTO for Tim Hortons, the Canadian quick serve with locations in the U.S. known primarily for its coffee drinks. The menu item masterfully layers a few of today’s biggest beverage trends into its build. Cold-brew coffee continues to drive sales, particularly with younger consumers. Red velvet syrup introduces a striking color, cream adds luscious mouthfeel, and the cold foam tops it off with a luscious textural feature, giving the drink a modern, premium positioning.

“What makes our Red Velvet Cream Cold Brew a success is the combination of flavors, textures and eye-catching appearance,” says Elizabeth Rodriguez, Director of Product Innovation. “The red velvet syrup complements our flavorful 16 hours-steeped cold-brew coffee. The touch of cream makes the beverage smooth and silky, and the red velvet cold foam adds the soft, sweet and creamy topping.”

Flavored cold foams hit the sweet spot with modern consumers, and Tim Hortons is keying into approachable-yet-signature profiles with other successful LTOs. Examples include its Irish Cream Cold Brew with cold foam and the Roasted Hazelnut Cold Brew with espresso cold foam.

Tim Hortons is rolling out more innovative, thirst-quenching cold beverages, focusing on familiar seasonal flavors, such as blueberry, strawberry, tangerine and coconut to complement its espresso-based drinks, cold brews, Refreshers and Tim’s Boost energy-infusion drinks. “Our guests will be pleased to see a fun combination of known flavors with a twist,” Rodriguez says.