It’s a war out there, literally. And the war is getting fiercer by the day. No, we are not talking about Russia or Israel here. Instead, it is the battle of the palates that has taken the US by storm, prompting fierce competition between soft-drink manufacturers in America to cash in on the rising dirty soda trend being embraced by young Americans.
Utah’s favourite drink, dirty soda, has become a TikTok sensation and is spreading throughout the country like wildfire, with big conglomerates such as PepsiCo leading the pack. The latest to join the bandwagon is its rival KeurigDrPepper. The company has collaborated with Coffee Mate and will be releasing a limited edition Dirty Soda Coconut Lime creamer sometime this month.
“Coffee Mate is partnering up with Dr. Pepper to create a coconut lime creamer specifically made for crafting a dirty soda. Though the creamer company normally caters to coffee, as the name suggests, this limited-time creamer is meant to be added to soda (ideally Dr. Pepper) instead,” a report in people.com said.
What is Dirty Soda?
Mixing soda with dairy is not a new concept. Ice cream sodas and root beer floats, for instance, have been around for decades. However, in recent years, dirty soda has, perhaps, become Utah’s most celebrated contribution to American food & beverage industry. It has been a Utahn favourite for over a decade. In 2010, shops selling fountain-sodas with a dash of cream, a variety of syrups and other add-ins started sprouting in Utah. The non-alcoholic drinks were quite similar to Italian sodas. However, instead of carbonated water, the add-ins like syrups, juices, dairy products, purees, or coconut milk, were mixed with soft drinks such as Sprite, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
The original dirty soda formula is rather straightforward: a Diet Coke or Sprite poured over ice, then spiked with a shot of coconut syrup, lime juice, and half-and-half. Some shops use coconut-flavoured coffee creamer instead of the syrup. Today, there are thousands of different permutations and combinations available to suit the customer’s preferences.
In 2022, PepsiCo launched a campaign encouraging customers to try the combination of Pepsi and milk; and use the hashtag #PilkandCookies (as in Pepsi plus milk) to showcase their Santa-friendly concoctions.
Talking about the campaign, Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, said, “Combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans. With the rise of the ‘dirty soda’ trend on TikTok and throughout the country, we thought Pilk and Cookies would be a great way to unapologetically celebrate the holidays.”
Though Coca-Cola has not officially entered the dirty soda arena, it has not stopped Coke loyalists from experimenting with a variety of Dirty Coke and Dirty Diet Coke recipes.
Why is it Trending?
The trend caught on after a photograph of Gen-Z pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo was uploaded on TikTok, in December 2021, holding a soda cup outside a Swig outlet, one of Utah’s biggest soda chains specialising in dirty soda. The photo piqued the curiosity and interest of fans about dirty soda, sending them on a frantic search for the Utah-based chain.
Swig, the drive-through soda-fountain chain, has been considered “home of the original dirty soda”. It was founded in 2010 by Nicole Tanner and her husband Todd, and is renowned for its wide array of dirty sodas, which are, essentially, made by mixing base name-brand sodas such as Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper with add-ins such as flavored syrups, creams and fruit-purees. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swig_(soft_drink_shop)
Since PepsiCo entered into this business, the #dirtysoda trend has gone viral on TikTok, which has “more than 700,000 mentions of the #dirtysoda hashtag, most of which accompany videos of creators showing viewers how to make their own dirty sodas at home”, as per eater.com.
What’s New in the Soda Can?
The dirty soda business is now getting dirtier. Recently, in February of this year, Coca-Cola launched its new product, Coca-Cola Spiced. The product is designed to compete with Dr. Pepper. According to people.com, “the new, fizzy beverage is the first permanent flavour to be introduced by the brand in three years. Coca-Cola Spiced Zero Sugar is also available in stores. The soda blends the classic taste of Coca-Cola with a ‘burst of refreshing raspberry flavours and spiced notes’.”
In recent years, mocktails have been gaining ground as a preferred choice of drink. Hence, mixologists are getting creative with alcohol-free blends designed to stand on their own. The trend has been welcomed by the younger generations and has, reportedly, prompted events like “No drink November”.
for more article, click here!
