McDonald’s is getting its hands dirty in the drinks business.
The world’s biggest fast-food chain is planning to introduce flavored cold brews and “dirty sodas” – fizzy drinks topped with flavored syrups and fruit – to its menus.
McDonald’s will test-launch about 10 specialty drinks at roughly 500 restaurants mainly in Wisconsin and Colorado, the company said Thursday.
Its Creamy Vanilla Cold Brew, Popping Tropic Refresher and other brightly-colored icy drinks will be added to menus in September.
McDonald’s is rushing to hop on the drinks craze – as rivals Taco Bell and Wendy’s expand their own drink menus – and win over Gen Z customers eager for premium drink offerings.
“We’re seeing real momentum in beverages, with more people – especially our Gen Z fans – turning to cold, flavorful drinks as a go-to treat,” Alyssa Buetikofer, McDonald’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
Along with drawing in younger customers, the drinks also tend to rake in higher profits for businesses.
Fast-food restaurants have struggled in the US, beaten down by the pandemic-era shutdown and now failing to grab customers fearful of inflation amid President Trump’s tariffs.
But growth in beverages has been hot, with sales at beverage- and snack-focused chains growing 9.6% last year – the largest increase of any restaurant category, according to market-research firm Technomic.
While burgers generated higher sales last year, they grew only 1.4% over the same period.
McDonald’s has estimated beverages could represent a $100 billion consumer market in the US, Canada, Australia and parts of Europe.
Vast market potential has left fast-food chains scrambling to compete with the massive drink menus at Starbucks, Dunkin’ and Dutch Bros.
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“You can sense this urgency from us as an organization to get in [on drinks],” Charlie Newberger, head of McDonald’s beverage and dessert offerings, told the Wall Street Journal.
That’s what pushed McDonald’s to launch its alien-themed CosMc’s spinoff in December 2023, opening eight locations in Illinois and Texas that sold snacks and specialty drinks.
The goal of CosMc’s was to test what beverages and snacks grabbed customers without gunking up the works at existing McDonald’s locations, CEO Chris Kempczinski said at the time.
McDonald’s in May announced it was shuttering the CosMc’s locations, where long lines of customers had tapered off over the months.
Newberger said the CosMc’s restaurants were a success, informing McDonald’s of what offerings worked – and which didn’t, like the Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwiches, which couldn’t compete with McDonald’s French Fries.
“The purpose of CosMc’s was for us to push the fringes,” he told the Journal.
The company found that customers didn’t customize their CosMc’s drinks as much as anticipated – which made the expanded menu offerings more viable for McDonald’s locations.
Now McDonald’s is looking to pull the same experiment off at its existing locations.
“It’s a strategic opportunity to explore menu innovation within the beverage space, while testing how we deliver these experiences operationally,” Buetikofer said.
Along with the test locations in Wisconsin, Colorado and the surrounding areas, McDonald’s is looking to test premium beverages internationally with different flavors.
Europeans, for example, tend to prefer lemon, orange and mint drinks, while Americans prefer berry flavors, Newberger said.
Taco Bell has recently jumped on the trend with its line of fruity Refresca drinks, while KFC has launched a new “dirty soda” collaboration with Mountain Dew and Burger King has introduced a Frozen Cotton Candy drink for the summer.
