It’s easy to dismiss matcha as another social-media-fuelled trend. The bright green lattes, aesthetic café moments and endless influencer content certainly help explain some of its momentum.
But to view matcha purely as a passing craze is to miss the bigger picture.
What makes matcha interesting isn’t simply its rapid rise in popularity. It’s what that popularity tells us about changing consumer tastes. Diners today are increasingly looking for drinks that sit at the intersection of wellness, indulgence and self-expression. Matcha happens to deliver all three.
As reported in the Financial Times, British matcha revenue reached around £46 million in 2025, more than doubling year on year, with continued growth forecast over the coming decade.¹ Yet the real opportunity for restaurants isn’t just capitalising on a fast-growing category. It’s understanding what matcha represents and using it as a way to stay ahead of evolving consumer expectations.
More than a trend
Matcha’s popularity is no longer just about novelty. In Oatly’s Future of Taste Report, we highlighted that matcha represents a wider shift in global beverage culture. One driven by curiosity, cross‑cultural exchange and changing attitudes to health and enjoyment. What began as ‘matcha mania’ has opened the door to a broader appetite for East and Southeast Asian flavours, with ingredients such as hojicha, ube and pandan increasingly influencing Western menus.
In this evolving landscape, matcha’s future lies in adaptability. Consumers are still drawn to its heritage, colour and perceived benefits, but they are less interested in rigid ceremony. Instead, they want drinks that feel intuitive, flexible and personal to them, whether that’s enjoyed iced or hot, paired with oat milk, flavoured with syrups or incorporated into seasonal specials. This ability to support customisation and menu innovation is what makes matcha more than a passing trend. For operators, it presents an opportunity to offer greater choice while keeping pace with evolving consumer expectations.
Consistency is key
The demand for matcha is clear but the greater challenge for hospitality operators is delivering it consistently. Traditional preparation techniques require skill, time and training. While this works well in specialist cafés, it can become more difficult to execute in busy restaurant environments where speed and consistency are critical.
Making matcha accessible is therefore crucial to scaling it across hospitality spaces. Ready‑to‑use or ready‑to‑drink formats allow teams to deliver consistent quality quickly, removing complexity without compromising flavour. This approach makes it easier to introduce matcha beyond the café counter and into breakfast service, lounges, bars and even in‑room dining.
Accessibility also encourages experimentation. When preparation is simple, teams are more likely to explore matcha’s potential across different menus and settings, rather than treating it as a niche add‑on.
This is why we developed our Oatly Matcha Latte Oat Drink. Made with finely ground matcha and blended with Oatly’s smooth oat base, it delivers a gently sweet green tea flavour with a hint of vanilla – all in a fully plant‑based, dairy‑free format.
Designed to be served hot or cold, frothed or poured over ice, it gives hospitality operators the flexibility to offer a variety of menu options without adding complexity to service. Requiring no specialist preparation, additional training or extra equipment, it provides a simple and scalable solution for businesses looking to meet growing demand for matcha while delivering greater choice and customisation for customers.
In a post‑matcha mania world, this balance is essential. As our Future of Taste report highlights, today’s drink choices are increasingly shaped by a desire for conscious indulgence – experiences that feel good without feeling restrictive. Matcha, when presented accessibly, delivers exactly that.
One ingredient, multiple menu moments
Perhaps the strongest argument for matcha’s place on restaurant menus is its versatility. Too often, ingredients are introduced to satisfy a trend before quickly falling out of favour. Matcha has the potential to avoid this fate because it works across multiple occasions and customer needs.
In the morning, it can provide an alternative to coffee for guests looking to moderate their caffeine intake. During the day, iced matcha lattes and seasonal specials bring colour, differentiation and social-media appeal to menus. In the evening, matcha can play a role in premium low- and no-alcohol serves or offer an unexpected twist in cocktails.
For operators under pressure to maximise efficiency, this versatility matters. The ability to create multiple menu moments from a single ingredient is often far more valuable than chasing the next trend.
A green opportunity
Whether matcha ultimately becomes as ubiquitous as coffee is almost beside the point. What matters is that its success reflects a consumer who is more adventurous, more globally influenced and more interested in balancing indulgence with wellbeing than ever before.
For hospitality businesses, matcha is not simply a product trend. It is a signal of wider shifts in consumer behaviour. Today’s customers are increasingly seeking variety, customisation and experiences that align with their individual tastes and lifestyles. They are more willing to explore new flavours, embrace influences from different cultures and seek out beverages that feel both functional and enjoyable.
The opportunity, therefore, extends beyond adding a matcha latte to the menu. It lies in understanding what matcha represents and using those insights to inform future menu development, innovation and customer engagement strategies.
The most successful hospitality operators will be those that keep a finger on the pulse of emerging trends, recognise when a trend is moving from novelty to mainstream demand, and understand how those trends connect to the needs of their audience and potential customers.
Matcha may be today’s headline ingredient, but the real competitive advantage comes from understanding why consumers are gravitating towards it and being ready to respond to whatever comes next.
Toby Weedon is Barista Development Director EMEA at Oatly
References
- Grand View Research (reported in the Financial Times)