A late-May heatwave in the United Kingdom sent iced coffee sales soaring, with Square reporting a 137% jump in iced coffee transactions over the bank holiday weekend compared with the previous weekend. According to Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, this spike during 22–25 May 2026 came as temperatures climbed as high as 33°C across the country, highlighting how quickly consumers shift from hot to cold coffee when the weather turns.
QSR Media UK and Tea & Coffee Trade Journal report that Square’s data also shows a 123% year-on-year uplift in iced coffee sales compared with the same bank holiday period in 2025, underlining how much larger the iced segment has become in just twelve months. The top sellers at merchants using Square over the 2026 weekend were Iced Latte, Iced Coffee, Iced Americano, Iced Matcha Latte and Iced White Chocolate Matcha, QSR Media UK noted.
The heatwave surge aligns with wider consumer findings from a Square/OnePoll survey of 2,000 UK adults in May 2026. As reported by Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, 47% of respondents said they switch to iced drinks when the weather is hot, a figure that rises sharply among younger demographics: 81% of Gen Z and 74% of millennials said they change from hot to iced coffee in warmer conditions. Nearly one in four UK consumers under 35 drink iced coffee all year round, according to an Arctic Iced Coffee blog analysis of the segment.
Commenting on the recent sales spike, John O’Beirne, CEO of Square International, told Tea & Coffee Trade Journal that “few people read the market faster than a hospitality business owner, and the [recent] heatwave was a prime opportunity for them to stock up on chilled drinks and the supplies required for iced coffees, so that they can cater for the demand.” His remarks suggest that cafés and restaurants using Square were actively preparing to capture iced beverage demand as the forecast turned warmer.
Beyond the on-premise channel, the United Kingdom’s ready-to-drink iced coffee market has expanded rapidly in recent years. Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, citing Euromonitor International, reported that the UK RTD coffee market was worth US$340 million in 2024 and is forecast to reach over US$700 million by 2028 [UNVERIFIED]. Grocery data from Atlante UK, published in November 2025, shows UK retailers sold 72.3 million litres of RTD iced coffee in 2024, a 5.7% increase on the previous year.
Innovation is helping to pull more shoppers into the chilled coffee aisle. Trade title Grocery Trader reports that new flavour profiles in RTD iced coffee are delivering 151% year-on-year growth, while oat-based iced coffee products are up 36% year-on-year. According to the Arctic Iced Coffee blog, iced latte and cappuccino formats now make up more than half of the UK RTD coffee market, and Arctic Coffee has responded by launching an Arctic Decaf Café Latte in Tesco stores nationwide in May 2026, with its RTD bottles retailing at £1.15 each.
Plant-based start-up Rodd’s has emerged as one of the highest-profile entrants to this booming category. Founded in the UK in May 2025, Rodd’s surpassed £3 million (US$4.03 million) in retail sales in its first year, according to coverage shared between Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and Grocery Trader. Grocery Trader notes that the brand is now the number one plant-based iced coffee brand in Great Britain and that 75% of Rodd’s consumers at supermarket chain Sainsbury’s were new to the iced coffee category.
Co-founder William Lenney, better known online as YouTuber WillNE, told Grocery Trader that “now it’s about scaling Rodd’s properly. Heading into summer, we’re backing it with serious investment – sampling and out-of-home activity – getting it in front of people in the real world so visibility keeps pace with the demand we’re already seeing on the shelf.” The brand has continued to expand its range, adding a Tiramisu Oat Latte, a Brown Sugar Latte and a Cold Brew Oat Latte that has joined the Sainsbury’s Meal Deal, according to Atlante UK and Grocery Trader.
The UK’s shift towards iced formats also mirrors changing habits in other major coffee markets. Data from the National Coffee Association’s Spring Report, summarised by Coffee Intelligence, shows that 32% of Americans consumed cold coffee in the previous week, and 49% of US Gen Z had a cold, iced or frozen coffee drink in the past day. The same source reports that Starbucks said iced drinks accounted for 75% of its global beverage sales in 2024, while US Gen Z now drinks roughly as much iced coffee as hot coffee, and 35% of millennials drink iced coffee.
Retailers and chains are responding with more elaborate cold offerings. Tea & Coffee Trade Journal notes that Costa Coffee’s summer 2026 line-up in the UK includes new items such as an Iced Oat Velvetino, several Iced Whipped Latte variants, a Sweet Ube Iced Whipped Latte, an expanded iced matcha range and a Jasmine Hibiscus Iced Tea. At the same time, Coffee Intelligence reports that Caffè Nero’s iced-beverage sales rose 49% year-on-year in a recent quarter, contributing to record Q1 revenues of £166 million, and that Starbucks’ iced-heavy sales mix reinforces the centrality of cold drinks to international coffee chains.
This growth in iced and RTD coffee is unfolding against a backdrop of economic pressure and high input costs. Coffee Intelligence reports that green-bean prices reached record highs of around US$4.40 per pound in February 2025 and have remained elevated, while inflation and sluggish economic growth are squeezing consumer spending. Within that context, Coffee Intelligence notes that RTD iced coffee is offering shoppers an affordable premium alternative to out-of-home cafés, helping to sustain demand even as household budgets remain tight.
