ShanghaiJune 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Starbucks China’s first trendy bagged ready-to-drink coffee, the Fruit-Infused Americano series, has made a stunning debut. This series also marks the brand’s further push into the health track, launching its first ready-to-drink coffee fortified with dietary fiber and vitamins, featuring two flavors: Ruby Red Grapefruit Americano and Berry Medley Americano. The new products, with their revolutionary open-and-drink design, fresh and natural fruit flavors, and multiple nutritional benefits, have brought a new trend to this summer’s ready-to-drink coffee market.
Starbucks Fruit-Infused Americano series integrates triple innovations in packaging, flavor, and nutrition. The new products feature a groundbreaking bag design that combines fashion and portability, aligning with Gen Z’s aesthetic preferences. They are easy to carry and drink on the go, naturally lending themselves to social media sharing. In terms of flavor, high-quality Latin American Arabica coffee beans are selected, with each of the two new products offering distinct characteristics: The “Berry Medley Americano” blends the aromas of four berries—cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, and bayberry, creating a multi-layered fruit fragrance that perfectly merges with the Americano coffee base; The “Ruby Red Grapefruit Americano” combines ruby red grapefruit flavor with white grapefruit flavor, achieving a balanced sweet-and-sour taste that is refreshing and palate-cleansing, resulting in a harmonious collision of rich fruit notes and the robust flavor of coffee. As Starbucks’ first ready-to-drink coffee fortified with dietary fiber and multiple vitamins, the Berry Medley Americano is low-sugar, while the Ruby Red Grapefruit Americano is sugar-free. Leveraging the core advantages of refreshing flavors and low-calorie, great taste, these products unlock a high-quality ready-to-drink coffee experience that combines flavor enjoyment with nutritional support for consumers.
Behind the open-and-drink Fruit-Infused Americano lies precise consumer insight and strong local R&D capabilities
Starbucks’ local R&D team observed that young consumers are the main driving force behind ready-to-drink coffee consumption. Currently, Gen Z consumers not only value the energizing effects of coffee but also seek personalized experiences and emotional resonance. The creative portable bag design deeply aligns with the consumption personality of Gen Z, characterized by “being unconventional, daring to try new things, and embracing alternative lifestyles.” Additionally, healthification has become one of the core trends in coffee beverage innovation, and Starbucks ready-to-drink is continuously stepping up its efforts in the health track. The newly launched Fruit-Infused Americano further enriches the black coffee product matrix, not only satisfying the preferences of the black coffee segment for refreshing textures and fruit flavors but also seizing the new opportunity of nutritionally fortified coffee.
The launch of the Fruit-Infused Americano series stems from the meticulous efforts of Starbucks’ local R&D team—nearly a hundred formula adjustments, multiple rounds of internal taste evaluations, and taste tests involving thousands of consumers across several cities, ultimately achieving a golden balance between coffee aroma and fruit notes, ensuring a smooth and full-bodied mouthfeel. Taking the initial consumer test data feedback for the “Ruby Red Grapefruit Americano Coffee Beverage” as an example, consumers generally found the new product’s packaging eye-catching, with outstanding flavor and texture, resulting in strong market purchase intent.
Dual-drive product innovation power fuels years of double-digit business growth, leading China’s premium ready-to-drink track
Behind the standout product innovation lies Starbucks ready-to-drink’s unique “dual-drive model.” On one hand, the local R&D team is deeply rooted in the Chinese market, continuously grasping consumer demand trends for flavor iteration and health upgrades, launching trendsetting ready-to-drink products to meet the diverse needs of different regions and consumer segments. On the other hand, the team consistently draws inspiration from in-store bestsellers, successfully extending classic store beverages such as Matcha Latte and Coconut Latte into the ready-to-drink domain. Notably, Starbucks Coconut Latte has won the “iSEE Global Award · Michelin Star Chef Certification.” Excitingly, the first Starbucks® energy drink, Icy Passion Fruit Flavor, is also set to launch in Sam’s Club channels, further enriching Starbucks ready-to-drink’s product matrix in the non-coffee category.
According to research data from Euromonitor International, as a bellwether in the premium ready-to-drink industry, Starbucks ready-to-drink has been deeply cultivating the Chinese market for over a decade, maintaining a double-digit business growth momentum for six consecutive years, and continues to release steady business growth drivers. As of March 2026, the brand’s market performance in out-of-home consumption scenarios far exceeds the average growth rate of the ready-to-drink coffee category, consistently attracting new customers into the ready-to-drink segment and leading penetration growth. Data from the FMCG offline monitoring network “Mashangying” shows that in 2025, among the top five ready-to-drink coffee brands, Starbucks ranked second and was also one of the fastest-growing brands in market share.
Currently, Starbucks ready-to-drink has covered over 1,400 county-level markets nationwide, and through online platforms like Douyin and creative marketing campaigns, it continues to strengthen emotional connections with consumers. The spring sports season campaign launched in April this year, in collaboration with Xu Mengtao and Wang Xindi, stands as one of the brand’s successful practices in engaging and interacting with the younger demographic.
David Hanson, Starbucks Global Channel Development Officer, stated: “Starbucks ready-to-drink always focuses on the needs of local consumers, using product innovation and channel strength to continuously expand the experiential boundaries of ready-to-drink coffee. The Starbucks Fruit-Infused Americano series is another testament to our commitment to the health track with triple innovations and ‘playing together’ with Gen Z. In the future, we will continue to anchor ourselves in localized innovation, bringing Chinese consumers more high-quality, aesthetically pleasing, and health-beneficial ready-to-drink options, leading the industry’s development and upgrade.”