Summer is fast approaching, along with an uptick in your iced-coffee drink sales. Iced coffees and teas, nitro coffees, blended-iced drinks (frappes) and smoothies are popular in other seasons too, but by June you can expect your ice machine to start working overtime.

Cold coffee is a great way to win over younger drinkers—with Millenials driving the trend in the U.S. Iced drinks are great for your bottom line, too, because as much as half of a drink’s volume consists of ice—thus increasing your profits by 50%. Providing the lighter flavor that younger coffee drinkers tend to seek out means you’re using less product.

Your costs/margins on blended drinks:

Your cost to make smoothies and blended coffee beverages is often under $2.00, while they retail for $4.00 to $6.00 each. And then there are the add-ons—an extra shot of espresso, fruit, yogurt, protein or vitamin powders, or syrups.

Keep an eye on inventory to remain profitable:

As with all drink prep, make sure your staff is following recipes carefully. Dollars will go down the drain when 20 ounces of product is prepared for a customer who ordered a 16-ounce drink.

Appeal to customer tastes when marketing cold drinks:

Nitro coffee is smoother than smooth. Iced drinks are light and refreshing. And fruit smoothies can be highly nutritious. Be sure to use affirming language like this in your advertising and menus.

You can also increase food sales by offering smoothie bowls, which often contain superfood ingredients like chia seeds, flax seeds, goji berries, cacao nibs and hemp protein. They're delicious too—and ideal for those seeking a more filling, hearty option. They’re about as quick to make as a regular smoothie, too.

The bottom line: Cold drinks can increase your sales and profitability—and show no signs of slowing down.