The hospitality industry uses drink menus to create guest refreshment, online presence, and brand reputation enhancement.
The majority of F&B teams remain unaware of the essential changes.
The drinks which create widespread viral popularity across Indonesian hotels, bars, and clubs? They’re not cocktails. The mocktails present a new wave of refreshing drinks that combine strong visual appeal with thoughtful construction methods.
What’s Really Driving Beverage Buzz
Across Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, and Lombok, a clear pattern has emerged — and it’s reshaping what smart venues prioritize on their menus:
- The most-shared drinks are non-alcoholic
- Guests take photos with these beverages more frequently than they do with drinks that contain spirits.
- These drinks are created with attention to visual design as well as cultural meaning and high-quality ingredients.
Why? The modern drinking guests, including members of Gen Z and Millennials, require more from their beverage encounters than pure alcoholic content. They want:
- Drinks they relate to
- Drinks that photograph well
- Drinks that don’t require alcohol to feel elevated
The viral drinks of Indonesia present themselves as expressions of identity, alongside their connection to specific occasions and attractive presentation. The most viral drinks throughout Indonesia combine three distinct characteristics.
The Three Traits Viral Drinks Share
Your purchasing manager should evaluate beverage strategy this year through these key factors, because they produce actual results which include content sharing, brand engagement, and equity development.
1. Visual Intent
Each component of the presentation exists to be observed by guests. Think:
- Layered color gradients
- House garnishes (pandan leaf, lychee, chili rims)
- Custom glassware and lighting setups
These drinks aren’t just sipped — they’re staged.
“Our most posted drink this year was alcohol-free. It made guests feel seen, not excluded.”
— Bar Manager, Rooftop Venue, Jakarta
2. Cultural Context
Zero-proof drinks succeed because they connect with local relevance:
- Served at moments that matter (Iftar, weddings, spa ceremonies)
- Designed to respect values without compromising experience
- Made with ingredients that are both recognizable and premium
This is not about abstinence. It’s about alignment — with occasion, identity, and lifestyle.
3. No-Compromise Craft
Forget sugary sodas. The new wave of mocktails in Indonesia is chef-level, mixologist-approved:
- Built on carbonated mixers like Candid that offer depth and balance
- Structured with the same care as any signature cocktail
- Finished with flavors that evolve over the sip
The perception that low-effort is synonymous with alcohol-free beverages has proven incorrect. Proper execution of this concept results in the most premium item on the tray.
What This Means for Your Venue
Purchasing managers who oversee hotels lounges and beachfront bistros as well as fast-paced clubs need to understand this fundamental truth.
Your competition exists beyond product offerings. You’re competing on presence.
Ask yourself:
- Does your beverage selection enable you to receive social media tags, social sharing, and public visibility?
- Do your zero-proof beverages maintain the same level of thoughtful preparation that spirits beverages receive?
- Do your drinks serve as a means to expand your brand identity or do they primarily function to fill drinking glasses?
If the answer’s no, you’re leaving revenue and relevance on the table.
The venues that earn the most buzz in 2025 succeed through their smartest and most content-worthy serves, rather than extensive bar menus.
Where Candid Fits In
The purchasing industry is adopting Candid Mixers as premium carbonated mixers that provide operational simplicity and visual appeal for those seeking to enhance their beverage offerings without major bar transformations.
Why?
- 250ml cans allow for perfect, single-serve consistency
- Flavors like Imperial Tonic, Ginger, and Club Soda blend together with powerful clarity
- No syrupy aftertaste, no complicated batching
- Zero alcohol, full premium perception
The SKU functions as an intelligent product which stimulates innovative drink preparation and generates social guest engagement, without altering your current beverage management processes.
Key Takeaway for Purchasing Managers
You can build beverage buzz through methods which do not require alcohol.
You need:
- Intentional design
- Culturally relevant moments
- Premium tools that make mocktails look — and feel — unforgettable
The correct preparation of these drinks leads to:
- Guest engagement
- Social media visibility
- Increased check size
- Higher return visits
The system operates without hassle while requiring no retraining or compliance process.
Final Pour: A New Strategy for a New Era
The most profitable menu area you should consider isn’t always the whisky section. In 2025, it’s likely your zero-proof section.
Your venue has the capability to:
- Win guests who are posting, not just drinking
- Share narratives which match both your values and visual identity
- Become distinctive on social media feeds as well as bar service
Candid provides you with essential tools to create those drinks through speed, precision, credibility, and impactThe future of beverages isn’t low-effort. It’s low-proof — and high-performance.
