Neon caffeine coming to McDonald’s

 Neon caffeine coming to McDonald’s

The Washington Post/Getty Images

The biggest burger chain in the world will start selling energy drinks, refreshers, and dirty sodas at its US locations later this year, following its competitors’ leads into the booming market of fun little beverages, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the WSJ: New beverages include Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer, Mango Pineapple Refresher, and Dirty Dr. Pepper. McDonald’s plans to price the new items lower than competing drinks from Starbucks, Sonic, and other chains with footholds in the $100 billion global beverage market. McDonald’s is leaning into drinks—which tend to have higher profit margins than food—at a time when diners are increasingly downsizing their meal portions and, separately, being influenced by Utah culture. Cream- and syrup-filled dirty sodas went viral in recent years, thanks to the drink’s original creator, the Utah-based beverage chain Swig, which was featured in the reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. McDonald’s is somewhat late to the drink craze. Sonic started letting customers “make it dirty” in 2024, and Taco Bell added dirty sodas to its permanent menu last month. Meanwhile, Starbucks launched extra caffeinated refreshers last week. McDonald’s previously tested the waters with CosMc’s, a specialty beverage drive-through that opened in 2023 but closed last year.