Best Ideas for Creating Summer Drink Lines & Custom Summer Cups

Summer is about light drinks, fun drinkware, tropical flavors, and spending time away from the house. For bars, cafes, and restaurants, this means lots of foot traffic—if you know what to offer. If you don’t already have a seasonal drink line to promote your summer cocktails, now is the time to upgrade. Here are some of our best marketing tips and summer cups to make your drink line the hottest swag of the season. 

Why Have Seasonal Drink Lines?

When the heat is coming down and customers are sweating through their sandals, they’re not going to be looking for big mugs of hot chocolate. Cups and drinks that sell well in one season may be obsolete in another, and you want to maximize your sales all year long. 

That being said, your bar or café probably already has seasonal drinks lined up for the year. But if you’re not offering your own drink line to go with it, you’re missing out. Custom drink lines not only offer trendy cups and glasses to enjoy your drinks in, they also are a powerful tool for both sales and marketing. Customers love to buy quality drinkware from their favorite venues, and when they use your drinkware in public, they become powerful promoters for your business. 

How to Market Your Seasonal Summer Drink Line?

If you have a drink line that isn’t selling well, or you just need tips to get your drink line started, you’ve come to the right place. Use these tips to get your custom summer cups in circulation with your customers: 

• Offer custom cups with a free refill: Everyone loves earning free things, and when that free refill comes with a trendy cup, customers are sure to get in line!
• Sell them with a unique summer drink: Got a unique, house-invented drink to spice up their summer? Offer it with its own commemorative cup so everyone knows who got the summer special.
• Sell them at local summer events: Everyone loves party swag, and summer fairs and events are the perfect place for vendors to spread their promotional cups and tasty drinks.
• Make them part of a to-go special: If you have quality reusable cups, customers will be buying your to-go cups and bottles whether they’re eating in or going out!
• Keep them lined up at the register: Keep your drink line in visible when customers come to order so everyone has the chance to ask about and purchase their own summer cups.
• Offer them as part of catering packages: Catering an event? Make sure every guest goes home with your logo in hand!

Top Tips for Tasty Summer Drinks

Want something fresh for your summer selection? These drink ideas are sure to be a hit on hot days or sweet summer evenings: 

• Put a spin on a classic: Throw some raspberries in a mojito, or create your own pineapple-mango shake. With just a small change you can create an all-new refreshing drink that customers crave all summer long.
• Start from scratch: Nothing draws a crowd like fresh in-house made drinks. Make your own lemonades and fruit juices from scratch to cater to whole-foods enthusiasts in search of authentic flavors.
• Be seasonal exclusive: Some drinks, like dole whip floats or a classic piña colada, just don’t hit the same in other seasons as in summer, so why not make it summer exclusive? Making some drinks limited-time specials will give a sense of urgency to your customers to return often before summer ends and their favorite drinks are out of season.
• Find inspiration from other countries: want to make something nobody in your area has had before? Look for foreign recipes that carry their own unique flavor blends to stay ahead of your local competitors. For example, try this Sky Juice Recipe from the Bahamas, or these popular saké cocktails from Japan!

Fun Drinkware to Top Off Your Summer Line

While the most important part of any drink is the actual drink, what you put it in can make a major difference in its customer appeal. Whether you’re offering these with your own unique drink blends or offering them as their own separate swag, here are some trendy summer cup options to get your customers excited about your brand. 

22 oz Rainbow Confetti Mood Cup 

The ultimate party cup that comes with its own confetti effect, this trendy cup shows its true colors when filled with a refreshingly cold beverage. Perfect for summer drinks of all kinds and excellent for catering parties, topping off in-store, or just selling separate at the register. 

Sun Fun Stadium Cup – 17 oz 

This cup is made to shine in the summer thanks to its unique color-changing properties. Enjoy a refreshing beverage indoors then take it out in the sun to find a whole new color emerge! Customers will love the fun in the sun element almost as much as the delicious cocktails you fill it up with. 

Mood Stadium Cup – 22 oz 

Nothing brings summer party vibes like a custom mood cup! An easy and fun indicator of when it’s time to top off your cup while having such a large capacity that you won’t need refills. Serve these with a dole whip and orange soda float for a flavorful treat that customers will remember every time they use this cup at home. 

Full Color 22 oz. Pitcher Stadium Cup 

Love the simple convenience of a large capacity stadium cup but want something that can go in the dishwasher? These reusable and recyclable full color stadium cups put your custom logo on display in its full colorful glory, creating its own marketing everywhere it goes. Perfect for any café or bar, everyone will love the bright colors and massive refill potential this cup has to offer. 

Grande Britebrand™ 16 oz. Eco-Friendly Reusable Coffee Cup 

I mean, people are still going to want their coffee no matter how hot it is (that’s what iced coffee is for,) so you might as well put your summer branding on display! These trendy reusable coffee cups are made of biodegradable wheat straw, perfect for customers who want to be planet conscious while still getting their morning coffee from their favorite bar or café. 

Engraved 16 oz. Stainless Steel Ree Tumbler 

Take the party to the street with this custom stainless-steel tumbler! Featuring your logo laser-engraved into the side, you can bet your logo will last through every season. Stack these up at the register for the perfect drink accessory that will allow customers to take their favorite cocktail or house-made drink to go. 

11 oz. Gia Stainless Steel Wine Glass with Lid 

Do you have a really classy cocktail or fine wine that a stadium cup just doesn’t do justice to, but customers still want to take it home? These portable wine glasses are made of double-walled stainless steel to keep your drinks cool all evening. Keep the bugs out and the flavor in for summer sunset watchers, or just offer it as a regular part of your summer drink line that customers can take home. 

Tall Wine Glass – 19 oz.

For those summer sangrias, create custom wine glasses. Add fun straws or garnishes, and your customers will post pictures of your branding to their social media.

Full Color 16 oz. Nina Stemless Plastic Wine Glass

For fun they can take to go, offer your summer drinks in colors to catch their eye. These vibrant wine tumblers come with a cap and slide sip tab to avoid spilling any of your delicious drinks. Add your logo in full color so it can be seen at concerts, picnics, and wherever else these tumblers will travel.

Note: For more to-go options, consider offering one of these stainless steel water bottles in your summer drink line.

Whether you’re a fine dining restaurant or a sports bar, customers love to take a little bit of their favorite venues home with them. Don’t let that opportunity go to waste! Fill their summer memories with your logo and flavorful drinks by creating your own drinkware line of summer cups that they can use and reuse year after year.