The New Menu
Peet's Coffee is entering the 2026 holiday season with its deepest limited-time beverage lineup in recent memory, adding four new coffeebar drinks alongside returning seasonal favorites. The new additions include the Peppermint Bark Matcha — built on cold milk, white chocolate sauce, and peppermint syrup finished with a Peppermint Matcha Dream Top — and the Holiday Spice Latte, which pairs espresso and steamed milk with festive spice notes and an optional Vanilla Dream Top. Rounding out the new beverage slate are a returning Peppermint Mocha and the Sparkling Black Cherry Energy, a carbonated option delivering approximately 80mg of plant-derived caffeine alongside L-theanine and 100% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin B-12. The chain's annual Holiday Blend returns as a limited-edition bagged coffee and K-Cup pod, available both in coffeebars and at national retail.
On the food side, Peet's is adding an Iced Gingerbread Loaf and a Mini Apple-Cran Queen Croissant to its seasonal menu. Cara Schlanger, Director of Retail, framed the launch around the emotional pull of the season: "This year, we're leaning into that feeling of home while giving Peetniks new ways to enjoy the season, whether that's sharing a moment over a fresh pot with family or friends, trying a holiday drink while finding a little Peet's inspiration to take home to them."
Beyond the Coffeebar
The most distinctive element of this year's holiday push is a branded fragrance collaboration with LAVANILA, a natural beauty brand that has sold over 2 million fragrances in its 20-year history. The partnership translates the flavor profile of Peet's Vanilla Latte into two consumer products: a 50-plus-hour Vanilla Latte Candle made with 100% soy wax, and a Vanilla Latte Body & Hair Mist formulated with jojoba oil. The candle will be stocked at participating Peet's coffeebars, while both products are available via LAVANILA.com, Amazon, and Ulta. For operators, the collaboration is a notable example of a specialty coffee chain extending its brand equity into adjacent lifestyle categories — a strategy increasingly used to deepen loyalty beyond the transaction.
Peet's is pairing the fragrance line with a heritage-inspired merchandise collection, including a Color Block Tumbler and Cold Brew Sleeve referencing the brand's 1960s founding era, along with seasonal confections from Chuao and GooGoo Cluster available as gifting add-ons. The full collection is designed to lift average transaction value and position coffeebar visits as gift-destination stops during the holiday shopping window — a tactic relevant to any multi-unit operator watching check averages during Q4.
Sweepstakes Mechanics
To drive repeat coffeebar visits and retail trial through mid-December, Peet's launched a "Home for the Holidays" sweepstakes. Guests enter by scanning a QR code on holiday packaging at participating locations or at peets.com/holiday2026. Winners are selected weekly from November 23 through December 14, with each receiving a Southwest Airlines e-voucher for holiday travel. The mechanic ties packaging directly to digital engagement — a model that beverage brands across the industry have increasingly adopted to close the loop between retail shelf and loyalty ecosystems.
All holiday beverages and food items are available for a limited time beginning November 4 at participating Peet's coffeebars nationwide and through the Peetnik Rewards app. The launch is a useful case study for restaurant operators tracking seasonal LTO strategy as they weigh their own Q4 menus and merchandising mix.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
