In-N-Out adds new menu items as the competition heats up in fast-food beverages

• In-N-Out's owner Lynsi Snyder announced on Instagram that the chain had added two new drinks.
• Lite pink lemonade and Cherry Coke are the latest additions to a famously limited menu.

In-n-Out Burger keeps its menu concise, with a handful of burgers, fries, drinks, and shakes. The California-based chain says the limited menu helps it maintain its high quality and freshness standards.

But last week, the chain's owner, Lynsi Snyder, announced on Instagram that the chain had added two new drinks.

The new menu items — lite pink lemonade and Cherry Coke — represent the first addition since 2018, when the chain added hot chocolate. Traditional lemonade was added 15 years before hot chocolate. In-N-Out has added new drinks as beverages are becoming an increasingly important part of fast-food menus.

Earlier this month, McDonald's unveiled details around its beverage-focused concept, CosMc's, which appears to be competing with beverage-focused chains like Starbucks, Dutch Bros, and newly popular soda concepts like Swig. Taco Bell has also added new beverages.

The chains are all targeting a growing interest in beverages and catering to the "3 pm slump," when consumers are looking for a sweet or caffeinated pick-me-up.

In-N-Out is taking a small, considered step in this segment.

The chain is also famously cautious when entering new markets. But here, too, the chain has recently expanded. Earlier this month, , representing its entry into an eighth state. The company's ninth state is expected to be Tennessee.

The limited menu and restaurant locations help keep In-N-Out's menu affordable, even as many , Snyder has said.

"The limited menu means reduced costs for raw ingredients. The company also saves money by buying wholesale and grinding the beef in-house," Snyder told Fobes in 2018.

"It cuts out an estimated 6% to 10% of total costs by owning most of its properties — many bought years ago — and not paying rent. In-N-Out picks its locations carefully, clustering them near one another and close to highways to lower delivery costs while also avoiding pricey urban cores."

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