McDonald’s is set to add “Instagrammable” new drinks to its menu in hopes of luring in a younger generation of customers.
The fast food chain will introduce a line of fruit-flavored refreshers and crafted sodas to its menu at locations across the U.S. this month, a company spokesperson told Reuters.
McDonald’s joins countless other chains like Taco Bell, Sonic, Dunkin’ and Starbucks in offering refreshers – or brightly-colored, fruity-flavored iced drinks.
“They come in vibrant colors,” McDonald’s Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Alyssa Buetikofer told The New York Times. “They are very Instagrammable.”
The beverages, which come in an array of flavors and can be caffeinated or not, are a way for McDonald’s to appeal to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“It’s clearly a very attractive category, and we’re not the only ones who see it,” Charlie Newberger, the head of beverages and desserts at McDonald’s, told the Times. “It is large and growing and appeals to younger customers.
The new beverages will include a Dirty Dr Pepper and a Mango Pineapple Refresher, according to The Wall Street Journal. McDonald’s also plans to roll out energy drinks beginning this August.
McDonald’s plans to sell its new beverages at lower prices than its competitors. The company expects the new drinks to drum up high profit margins for franchisees, who have invested thousands of dollars in new equipment to mix the drinks.
Energy drinks and crafted sodas, also known as “dirty” sodas, are growing in popularity amongst Americans, particularly amongst younger generations looking for new ways to get their caffeine fix.
Many other chains have added refreshers to their menus in recent years, including Dunkin’, which launched its line in 2020. Within two years, the sale of iced drinks surpassed that of hot beverages, according to the Times.
Beverages are also more profitable than burgers or chicken nuggets for fast food chains, and McDonald’s hopes its foray into the global beverage market yields positive results.
“Most beverages are high-margin products relative to food options for sure,” Scott Murphy, the chief brand officer at Inspire Brands, which owns Dunkin’ and Sonic, told the Times.
“Refreshers have been the single largest contributor to our incremental sales growth over the last couple of years,” Murphy said.
The announcement of refreshers and other beverages comes about a year after McDonald’s shuttered its five beverage-centered CosMc’s concept stores in the U.S., which the company said it had opened to test the market space.
After shutting down CosMc’s, McDonald’s began testing new beverages in about 500 restaurants in September 2025.
The results showed that McDonald’s would need a diverse line-up of drinks to break through the crowded market, Charlie Newberger, the chain’s global head of beverages, told the Journal.
All the testing showed the company what flavors customers want – and which ones they don’t.
“They are looking for that little treat, that companion to the day,” Newberger told the Journal last year. “Those play to our strengths.”
