The Seasonal Push
BIGGBY COFFEE, the 470-plus-unit Midwest-rooted coffee franchise, launched its 2026 holiday menu on Nov. 2, running through Jan. 4 — a nine-week window designed to drive repeat visits and capture gift-card spending during the peak consumer retail season. The rollout spans beverages, food and a weekly discount mechanic across all participating locations in its 13-state footprint.
The beverage lineup centers on peppermint, a flavor profile that consistently ranks among the top seasonal performers for specialty coffee operators. The Peppermint Stick Mocha and Snow Mint Mocha anchor the coffee side, while the Frosted Sugar Cookie latte and a Kid's Sprinkle Cookie drink extend reach across daypart and age demographics. For non-coffee traffic, the brand is offering CranRazz Energy in a BIGGBY Blast format and a Red Bull Mocktail — a move that reflects broader industry pressure on coffee chains to capture energy-drink consumers who may otherwise default to convenience-store alternatives.
Food and Frequency Mechanics
On the food side, the Maple Waffle Sandwich — a Belgian-style waffle made with real maple syrup and sugar pearls, available with egg, cheddar, sausage or bacon combinations — returns as a proven traffic driver. A Chocolate Holiday Cake Pop rounds out the limited-time food offer. Food attachment rates are a key margin lever for single-unit coffee franchises, where beverage-only tickets leave incremental revenue on the table.
To build Monday-specific foot traffic, BIGGBY is running "More the Merri-Mint Mondays" for the duration of the holiday window: guests who purchase a Peppermint Stick Mocha Latte or Snow Mint Mocha Latte in any size receive $1 off any Bragel or Maple Waffle Sandwich. The weekly offer is a structurally low-cost loyalty mechanic that chains increasingly use to smooth same-store sales curves across the week without discounting their core margin items.
Calendar of Promotions
Five date-specific promotions punctuate the season. Veterans and active-duty military receive a free 16-ounce brewed coffee on Veterans Day. Thanksgiving-open locations offer a buy-one-get-one-free 20- or 24-ounce specialty beverage. On Black Friday, customers who purchase a Bragel or Maple Waffle Sandwich receive a free 16-ounce black coffee during the first 60 minutes after store opening — a promotion structured to convert food-first morning traffic into brand loyalists during the highest-footfall retail day of the year. On Christmas Eve, guests can choose between a buy-one-get-one offer or $1 off a 20- or 24-ounce specialty drink.
Gift cards — available in physical and digital formats — round out the seasonal strategy. Gift-card programs are a recurring topic in franchise operator strategy coverage, as they generate upfront cash flow and typically carry a breakage rate that contributes to system-level margin. For a 100% franchised system like BIGGBY, coordinated seasonal campaigns of this scope also serve as a franchise recruitment signal, demonstrating the brand's ability to execute national-scale marketing infrastructure.
The holiday push arrives as regional specialty coffee chains face intensifying competition from both national QSR operators expanding their espresso menus and fast-casual beverage concepts targeting younger, energy-drink-crossover consumers. BIGGBY's dual play — nostalgia-anchored seasonal flavors plus functional energy options — reflects a hedged positioning strategy aimed at retaining core customers while broadening occasion relevance.
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.
