Drinkable Desserts: Reimagine classic treats as colorful, craveable beverage experiences

By Amelia Levin, Food Fanatics editor | Sponsored by Mars

September 18, 2026 12:00 AM

Desserts are moving beyond the plate and into beverages, giving operators new ways to transform familiar flavors into colorful, craveable and highly customizable experiences. From fruit-forward refreshers to candy-studded milkshakes and coffee drinks layered with flavored creams and cold foams, the opportunity lies in reimagining—not simply replicating—the original dessert.

“What is trending—and we’ll start here—is all things beverage,” says Mike Buononato, Corporate Chef, Mars Snacking. “Every single major player we engage with—QSR chains, midscale dining, convenience stores, retail, colleges and universities and coffee shops—has beverages first, second and third on their project lists, even above food.”

Nowadays, with dessert often taking the place of an afternoon snack, beverages have more room to play. According to Datassential, 61% of consumers’ last dessert was eaten as a snack compared to 56% in 2023, and 22% of that group were Gen Z consumers.

Fruit-Based Refreshers

Refreshers offer a lighter, fruit-forward alternative to traditional dessert beverages. Often sweetened with fruit juice and enhanced with caffeine, vitamins or other functional ingredients, these drinks need imaginative flavor combinations and vibrant color to deliver an experience that feels as indulgent as a snack.

“Refreshers are a tremendous platform for creativity,” Buononato says. “They can’t just offer caffeine, vitamins or other beneficial ingredients—they also have to taste good, be highly visual and deliver complex, imaginative fruit flavors. That’s where Mars products such as STARBURST^® and SKITTLES^® can play so well. Their complex fruit flavors create an experience that explodes, making the beverage exciting, flavorful and visual—especially when it replaces a traditional snacking occasion.”

Consider pairing Italian ice or granita with SKITTLES^®-inspired fruit flavors or transforming familiar fruit combinations into layered blackberry-passion fruit, citrus-berry or tropical refreshers.

Sophisticated Milkshakes

Milkshakes now straddle two menu categories: beverage and dessert. Rather than simply blending ice cream with a single candy, operators can layer sauces, baked goods, candy pieces and contrasting textures to reimagine familiar desserts such as tiramisu or cannoli.

Milkshakes in general remain a crowd favorite—after all, 81% of US consumers like or love the dessert beverage, according to Datassential.

“Tiramisu by itself as an Italian dessert is probably not going to re-engage 350 million people across this country and make them say, ‘Wow, that’s awesome,’” Buononato says.

“Reimagining it as a complicated blended milkshake with all these different components—and taking tiramisu to a completely different place it hasn’t been before—that is how you could do it now. Cannoli, too. Think about the options with something like that.”

A tiramisu milkshake, for example, could combine vanilla soft serve, espresso, ladyfinger pieces and TWIX^® crumble for added caramel flavor and crunch. A cannoli-inspired shake could layer sweetened ricotta or pistachio cream with SNICKERS® pieces, caramel and crushed cannoli shells.

Coffee Innovation

Coffee drinks offer another natural platform for transforming desserts. Flavored creams and cold foams can evoke the richness of affogato, tiramisu or cannoli, while chopped candy, cookies and nuts provide color, texture and visual appeal. Pistachio—with its bold flavor, color and crunch—continues to trend as a coffee- and beverage-infused flavor. The nut’s presence on menus nationwide has increased 9.3% in the last year, with a predicted growth of 20.7% over the next four years, according to Datassential.

“Think about the massive use of cold foams and different types of creams,” Buononato says. “It’s a way to add this milky experience to something. They’re making some pretty elaborate types of cold foams and creams that are meant to go into coffee beverages. Pistachio cream, 100%. Cold foams infused with marshmallow, chocolate and all these other flavors—it’s all in play.”

Operators can build on the traditional marriage of coffee and ice cream with an affogato bar featuring M&M’S^® toppings, an affogato cookie sandwich or a cold brew finished with tiramisu-inspired mascarpone foam. Pistachio cream cold foam topped with chopped TWIX^®adds Italian flavor cues along with the rich, “fatty crunch” Buononato says helps maintain texture in the finished drink.

The most successful dessert beverages balance familiarity with surprise, using recognizable flavors, layered textures and colorful presentations to create an experience worth sipping—and sharing.