You May Soon Be Able To Add High-Protein Cold Foam to Your Starbucks Drink
The chain’s CEO predicts the on-trend menu item will take off like ‘a rocket.’
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Sometimes Starbucks creates new trends (see: the ubiquitous pumpkin spice latte), sometimes it gets too far ahead or afield of the current zeitgeist (R.I.P., Oleato), and sometimes it jumps on an existing craze. It is that last scenario that seems applicable to the coffee giant’s announcement that it is testing a new cold foam that is packed with protein.
The current high-protein food trend has been well documented, widely reported and a fixation for many on social media.
“People are eating more protein than ever before, with 61% of Americans increasing their protein intake in 2024 versus just 48% who did so in 2019,” according to a “2025 Protein Profile” released in April by the food supply chain company Cargill. “As a result, brands, retailers and foodservice operators must adapt to meet these changing demands – by delivering protein-forward solutions that balance affordability, quality and innovation.”
Introduced amongst other new menu additions by Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol at the Starbucks Leadership Experience event in Las Vegas this week, the new high-protein cold foam is banana-flavored and packs between 15 and 18 grams of protein, Fast Company reports. It features the chain’s newly developed “proprietary unsweetened protein blend,” which mixes smoothly with the cold foam but also brings to your beverage a full meal’s worth of protein. Other protein-packed cold foam flavors may follow.
The new protein-packed cold foam is currently being tested in five Starbucks locations. If it’s a hit — and so far the response has been favorable — it is expected to roll out nationwide. And Niccol told Axios the broader rollout is likely months, not years, away from happening.
“This thing is going to be a rocket,” Niccol reportedly said of the new innovation when he introduced it in Vegas. “It’s on trend. It’s delicious.”
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