We’re just coming to the end of 2023, and at the end of every year we start to put together our seasonal promotions drinks menu for the next year ahead. So, to give us an idea of which syrups and recipes have been popular, we’re looking back on our wholesale stock orders from the past year to discover which have been the most popular syrups for coffee drinks and cafes over the last 12 months.
The Top 10 Syrups for 2024 list below represents our most popular coffee syrups ordered by our wholesale customers between January to December 2023, to give you a good idea of which syrups to try and buy for the next year of service.
1. Caramel Syrup – 1,532 Orders
By far our most popular syrup for our customers this year was the Sweetbird Caramel syrup. A tried and true flavour that pairs great with medium to dark roasted coffees, especially in those larger milk drinks. Tip: Add two pumps of your caramel syrup to the jug before steaming your milk. This will make sure to incorporate all of the syrup into the drink and produce a great silky milk texture.
Recipe ideas: Caramelised Hazelnut Steamer (ingredients 1 pump hazelnut, 1 pump caramel syrup, hot steamed milk), Caramel Latte (1 dbl espresso, 2 pumps Caramel, hot steamed milk), Millionaires Hot Chocolate (1 scoop hot chocolate powder, 1 pump caramel syrup, steamed milk)
2. Vanilla – 835 Orders
In the number two spot is Vanilla syrup, which once again pairs incredibly well with milk-based drinks both coffee and non. Though specialty coffee tastes great without milk, sugar and syrups, many people just getting started with drinking coffee learn to love it with the aid of a simple flavoured syrup like vanilla. This year we supplied 835 1 litre bottles of caramel syrup to our customers, making it easily the second most popular at nearly double the quantities of the third place syrup.
Recipe ideas: Cinnamon Bun Latte (1 dbl espresso, 1 pump Cinnamon Syrup, 1 pump Vanilla Syrup, hot steamed milk), Vanilla White Hot Chocolate (1 pump Vanilla Syrup, 1 pump White chocolate syrup, hot steamed milk), Vanilla Flat White (1 dbl espresso, 1 pump vanilla syrup, thin hot steamed milk)
3. Sugar-Free Caramel – 429 Orders
We work with quite a number of wholesale customers who are motivated to serve lower-calorie coffee drinks, and for them, the sugar-free collection of syrups from Sweetbird are a great choice. With the standard caramel syrup taking first place, it’s no surprise that the best selling sugar free syrup was the same flavour.
Recipe ideas: Salted Caramel Iced Flat White, Salted Caramel Cappuccino
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4. Hazelnut – 428 Orders
First up from the nutty syrup category and just narrowly missing out on a top 3 placing is Hazelnut syrup. This is another great pairing with both coffee, milky and chocolately drinks reminding customers of a certain popular hazelnut-chocolate spread. These were most popular in the colder months this year, with sales of hot chocolate and hazelnut syrup picking up rapidly in the run-up to the festive season.
Recipe ideas: Caramelised Hazelnut Steamer (1 pump hazelnut syrup, 1 pump caramel syrup, hot steamed milk), Hazelnut Hot Chocolate Warmer (1 scoop hot chocolate powder, 1 pump hazelnut syrup, hot steamed milk, top with chopped hazelnuts)
5. Sugar Free Vanilla – 420 Orders
Next up in the sugar-free category is SF vanilla with 420 orders this year. Recipe recommendations are very much interchangeable with the standard vanilla flavoured syrup, just with the added benefit of being a lower calorie option.
6. Peach Iced Tea Syrup – 220 Orders
The first of the syrups in this list which isn’t made to pair with coffee is the peach iced tea syrup. Sales of this really picked up in the hot months, with many of our customers offering iced tea options made from water, sparkling water and lemonade.
Recipe ideas: Peach Iced Tea (4 pumps iced tea syrup, large glass with ice, top with water, garnish with mint sprigs). Peach Tea Lemonade Cooler (4 pumps iced tea syrup, large glass with ice, top with lemonade, garnish with lemon wedge)
7. Sugar-Free Hazelnut Syrup – 219 Orders
Sugar free hazelnut syrup also grew in popularity with a number of our customers looking to serve more sugar-free options, and the Sweetbird sugar-free version tastes identical to its sugar-based counterpart. This syrup works great in both hot and cold drinks like hazelnut latt
Recipes are once again perfectly transferable between Hazelnut and Sugar-Free Hazelnut.
8. Salted Caramel Syrup – 151 Orders
This one is a personal favourite of mine and absolutely fantastic with a medium roast coffee bringing forward the sweetness with a nice touch of salty on top, imagine a salted caramel ice cream or cheesecake in a cup of coffee. *chefs kiss*. Once again, great in a coffee, but also delicious in a hot chocolate or as part of an iced desert-style drink like a salted caramel frappe.
Recipe ideas: Salted Caramel Caffe Freddo (2 pumps salted caramel syrup, 150ml skimmed milk, mix into cold foam with blender. Pour over ice in a tall glass and top with a double espresso).
9. Smores Syrup – 136 Orders
One of the newcomers this year and already making the top ten list with 136 orders is the Smores syrup. Obviously fantastic when paired with a hot chocolate, but also great on its own with hot steamed milk and in iced coffees. Smores are a popular snack and ‘girl-scout’ cookie in the US, and are coming over to the UK and growing increasingly more popular. Smores recipes therefore tap into a growing trend and let you serve something new and exciting during the warm and cool months.
10. Toffee Nut Syrup 115 Orders
To round off the list in the number 10 spot is the Toffee Nut syrup, mimicking the taste of a certain peanut flavoured sweet treat chocolate bar.
Recipe ideas: Praline White Hot Chocolate (1x scoop white hot chocolate powder, 2x pumps toffee nut syrup, hot steamed milk), Salted Toffee Nut Hot Chocolate (1 pump Toffee Nut syrup, 1 pump salted caramel, hot steamed milk).