Background of Forest Pine

We understand that DRAM believes we appropriated their pine syrup for our Flavor of 2026. We want to be clear, we at Team Torani didn’t replicate their recipe or concept in any way. Torani didn’t invent pine, just like we didn’t invent vanilla, raspberry, or lavender. Pine is a natural flavor that exists in the world. Forest Pine is our interpretation of it, the same way we’ve crafted hundreds of other flavors.

We chose the pine concept after carefully watching the rising trend of botanical beverages. Once we selected the flavor, we followed our Gold Standard Process, tasting pine in many products available in the market to make sure ours was unique. Ultimately, Torani Forest Pine is a distinct blend of pine, ginger, and sage. With every Torani flavor, we create a range of recipes for lattes, cold brew, matcha, and mocktails.

Like last year, 100% of Torani’s profits from the Flavor of the Year go to nonprofits making a difference in their communities. We hope the pine and botanical beverage trends keep growing. There’s plenty of room for everyone’s own take on it.

What Inspired Forest Pine?

We identified Torani Forest Pine through our research to uncover our next Flavor of the Year, which is grounded in global trends to predict the next emerging flavor. For several years, we’ve been watching the rise of botanical, nature-inspired beverages and eventually honed in on the potential of pine as our next flavor. Like every new flavor at Torani, we apply our Gold Standard Process to develop our original interpretation of the flavor which includes extensive tasting of the flavor in many forms already in the market. (We even steeped fresh pine to create our own pine tea!)

Did Torani Invent Pine Flavor?

No. We didn’t invent the pine flavor, just like we didn’t invent vanilla, raspberry or lavender. Pine is a natural flavor found in the world. Instead, our team created our interpretation of this flavor, just like we’ve done with all others.

Did We Purchase Other Pine Products During Development?

Absolutely! Every time we identify our next flavor, we scour the market for other products available out in the world, ensuring that our flavor is 100% unique. When we make a new flavor, we scan restaurant menus, grocery store shelves, and more to find a range of products to get a good sense of what people expect, ensuring our product offers something special.

Did We Copy DRAM?

Absolutely not. We tasted DRAM’s Colorado Pine and several other pine flavors that were available in 2024 and then worked hard to create a unique flavor profile for Torani’s interpretation of Forest Pine. It includes notes of ginger, sage, and other botanical flavors.

How Much Money is Torani Making on Forest Pine?

None. We are donating 100% of the revenue from Forest Pine to nonprofits that are helping communities across the country, just like with our Flavor of 2025. You can read more about the amazing non-profits here.

How is Forest Pine Different from Other Pine Products? 

Forest Pine is a distinct Torani taste profile. It’s a layered botanical flavor, with pine, ginger and sage. We developed it to work across lots of beverages and taste preferences, and so that it offers something new within the growing botanical trend.

Are Torani’s Forest Pine Recipes Original?

Yes, absolutely. Like we do with every Flavor of the Year, we create brand-new recipes from scratch to showcase how Forest Pine tastes in real drinks. That means testing it across hot and iced coffee, cold brew, matcha, tea, mocktails, and cocktails. These original recipes are always developed independently by our team and partners.

Did Torani copy DRAM’s marketing for its Forest Pine Syrup?

No, Torani did not copy DRAM’s product marketing. The Forest Pine campaign was developed independently by Torani’s creative team over the span of well over a year, and our internal records show the creative direction was established long before these allegations surfaced.

A specific DRAM post featuring miniature figurines has been circulated to suggest that Torani copied their Pine Syrup campaign. This characterization is unequivocally false. The post in question was not in fact a promotion for DRAM’s Pine Syrup, and Torani had never seen it until recently, nor referenced it in any way during the development of our 2026 Flavor of the Year marketing campaign.

How did Torani develop its marketing campaign for Forest Pine Syrup?

The marketing campaign for Forest Pine Syrup was developed through our multi-stage creative process, which includes in-depth trend research, internal ideation sessions, mood-board development, and consumer testing. The direction for the campaign was established early on, and our documentation shows it was shaped solely by our internal team’s insights and creative exploration.

Our Hopes for Pine. We hope this launch supports the growing botanical flavor trend and the success of handcrafted flavored beverages. We believe that business is a circle of shared success and we hope this flavor creates boundless opportunity and inspires further innovation.