---
title: "Fast Casual: Consumers spending $181 billion on beverages"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/749487ef-b6bf-434d-8b0b-4df5668108ef
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-consumers-spending-181-billion-on-beverages-2704184
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
published: 2017-09-19T17:12:13.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:32:01.177Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/90e8aa82dfb627bdb9945ca70c10e764404.jpg
---

# Fast Casual: Consumers spending $181 billion on beverages

**TL;DR:** Non-alcoholic drinks are a growing area of the restaurant industry, with consumers spending $181 billion on them in 2016. The beverage category is changing with an increased emphasis on healthy products.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2017-09-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-consumers-spending-181-billion-on-beverages-2704184).*

## Story

Non-alcoholic drinks are a swiftly growing area of the restaurant industry. According to a recent article in Fast Casual, these drinks brought in over $181 billion to the industry in 2016. Coffee and soda lead this category, while specialty beverages are expected to continue to grow.

"Beverages account for $1 out of every $5 consumers spend away from home," said David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic. This makes the category a valuable investment for restaurant owners.

The beverage category is changing with an increased emphasis on healthy products. Consumers are seeking options that contain natural sweeteners such as honey and stevia.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- FastCasual (publication)
- Technomic (company)
- beverage sales (topic)
- David Henkes (person)
- healthy products (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-consumers-spending-181-billion-on-beverages-2704184). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/749487ef-b6bf-434d-8b0b-4df5668108ef).