TL;DR
McDonald's is expanding its drink menu with the launch of dirty sodas and Refresher beverages starting May 6. The new lineup is in response to soaring demand seen at brands like 7 Brew and Dutch Bros.
McDonald’s on Tuesday released its not-so-secret lineup of beverages, which are set to hit the chain’s nearly 14,000 U.S. locations on May 6.
The lineup, featuring a selection of Refresher drinks and dirty sodas, is the start of a massive expansion of its drink offerings, the chain’s response to soaring demand seen at brands like 7 Brew and Dutch Bros.
Younger consumers, in particular, have been gravitating to such drinks, which are colorful, show up well on social media and generate traffic during times of day many large chains want the most: afternoons.
“Our fans have an obsession with beverages,” Alyssa Buetikofer, chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald’s USA, said in a statement. “To them, drinks are more than just drinks. And soon, our beverages won’t just be a reason you come to McDonald’s, they’ll be the reason.”
To ensure that these beverages are done well at the store level, franchisees will introduce a new beverage specialist role to ensure that the drinks are made consistently. High-performing employees will fill that role.
Here’s a look at the lineup, starting with a trio of Refreshers:
Strawberry Watermelon Refresher: Strawberry and watermelon flavors with a lemonade base plus freeze-dried strawberries.
Mango Pineapple Refresher: Mango and pineapple flavors with a lemonade base and strawberry boba.
Blackberry Passion Fruit Refresher: Blackberry and passion fruit flavors with lemonade and freeze-dried dragon fruit.
And then there are the dirty sodas.
Sprite Berry Blast: Sprite with blue raspberry syrup and topped with cold foam.
Orange Dream: Hi-C Orange Lavaburst mixed with a hint of vanilla flavor and topped with cold foam.
Dirty Dr. Pepper: Dr. Pepper with vanilla flavor and topped with cold foam.
As part of the introduction, McDonald’s has teamed up with the designer Susan Alexandra on six limited-edition drink carriers. The carriers will be available for purchase on SusanAlexandra.com starting May 6.
McDonald’s has been working on an expanded beverage menu for years, starting with the creation of a secondary concept in CosMc’s. The company then ended that experiment and began testing an expanded drink lineup before opting to introduce more drinks nationwide this year.
The company plans new energy drinks later this year. Or, as McDonald’s said in its statement, “we’ve got more brewing.”
“We’ve taken the time to get this right,” Buetikofer said. “Only McDonald’s can bring that kind of experience to life consistently across nearly 14,000 restaurants, every single day.”
In this story
This story was originally published by Jonathan Maze in Nation's Restaurant News on April 28, 2026. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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