How Gen Z And TikTok Have Transformed Coffee Creamers Into A $5 Billion Market – CoffeeTalk

Coffee creamers have become a $5 billion category, with companies like Nestlé-owned Coffee-mate and Danone-owned International Delight churning out new flavors to cater to Generation Z customers who are increasingly making coffee at home. During the Covid-19 pandemic, International Delight saw consumers wanting that coffee house experience at home, which continued following the pandemic and now is being spurred by crazy coffee creations on the #CoffeeTok hashtag TikTok. Sales have soared to $5 billion in 2024, according to research firm Circana.

To meet this increased customer demand, Nestlé recently opened a $675 million factory in Arizona specifically for production of creamers. Nestlé’s creamer lineup has exploded, with new flavors from Starbucks, Natural Bliss, and its flagship Coffee-mate brand. International Delight has leaned hard into a novelty category for growth, especially with creamers built around popular TV shows and movies, including some nostalgic titles. This approach began a few years ago when International Delight put the 2003 film “Elf” name on a line of sweet creamer flavors sold during the holidays, and they have since launched plenty more, including “Friends” and “Bridgerton” flavors. Most recently, the brand rolled out creamers with the Netflix dating show “Love is Blind”: wedding cake and chocolate-covered strawberry, naturally to fit with the romance theme.

Licensed deals are often more commonly seen in other parts of the grocery store, but Danone’s Sanchez explained that the partnerships are working because they are being turned into “unexpected creamers that are consumer-relevant and create buzz around our brand.” In the eyes of Nate Rosen, a consumer packaged goods expert, the variety of coffee creamers has “gone off the rails in the best way possible.” The growth of sponsored creamers is “genius marketing,” and companies are even evolving past liquids with foams from Danone and Nestlé making their way onto shelves.

TikTok has unleashed that creative power within consumers, pointing toward younger consumers making cold foam at home and posting videos on the #CoffeeTok hashtag. Companies are launching these new foams in response to Gen Z inspired by people making cappuccino-like beverages at home and posting them on TikTok. Part of the appeal is the price: the cans of foam, which hover around $5.99 for 14 ounces, are generally cheaper than the price of one cappuccino at a coffee shop.

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