Restaurants Expand Beverage Menus as 24% Plan Wellness Drinks Amid GLP-1 Shift

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 25

24% of limited-service operators plan to add wellness drinks in 2026, part of a broader push into energy drinks, smoothies, lemonades and alcohol-free options.
The shift reflects rising health consciousness and wider GLP-1 use, which restaurant economists and consultants say can suppress appetite and reduce alcohol consumption.
Health already shapes drinking choices: 25% of adult nondrinkers cited health reasons, rising to 34% among Gen Z nondrinkers in the National Restaurant Association survey.
Restaurants still are not betting on alcohol's collapse—71% of Gen Z adults and 74% of millennials said they drink alcohol, but from a wider mix of beverages.
That mix matters commercially, with 87% of full-service operators and 80% of limited-service operators saying beverages help drive traffic and margins.