You'll Never Find This One Sweetener In Your Dutch Bros Coffee

Dutch Bros does things differently. From roasting its own coffee beans to only allowing long-term employees to run the franchises, this coffee chain has a strong culture and a loyal following. One thing it doesn't have, though? High fructose corn syrup.

When you order your preferred, sweetened cup of Joe at Dutch Bros, it's going to come with pure cane sugar, not corn syrup. The same goes for the chain's energy drinks and the sweet syrups used in coffee recipes. This caters to customers who are avoiding high fructose corn syrup for possible health reasons — according to Healthline, consuming HFCS on a regular basis leads to an excessive fructose intake, which increases the likelihood of poor health outcomes, such as fatty liver disease, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Although there are many substitutes for corn syrup, they're usually more expensive, so some companies prefer to stick with the cheaper artificial option. High fructose corn syrup also has a longer shelf life and greater flavor intensity, making it even more convenient from the business perspective.

The price of sugar has been climbing, something Dutch Bros acknowledges as a potential risk to its profit, explicitly stating in its 2024 annual report that "the cost of sugar increased significantly in 2022 and 2023, and remained elevated during 2024." Still, the chain appears committed to using cane sugar over corn syrup, and it's not the only one. Starbucks announced that it's eliminating high fructose corn syrup from its baked goods way back in 2009, and by 2016, this decision extended to all of its beverages.

Caribou Coffee is another coffee chain that nixed HFCS from its menu, alongside artificial colors and dyes. It's not just the coffee companies, either. Panera stopped using the syrup in bakery items in 2014, and in 2016, Papa John's became "the first national pizza chain to announce the removal of high fructose corn syrup from its entire food menu," per Franchising. The latest company to be swept up in the no-HFCS movement is Coca-Cola, which started selling Coke sweetened with cane sugar in October 2025, after being urged to make the change by President Donald Trump.