Why craft beverages are taking over fast food restaurants

That mid-afternoon refresher may be just an affordable luxury to you, but it’s so much more to the people who make it.

Craft beverages are coming to the forefront at quick-service restaurants and are finding their way into full-service restaurants as well.

“Beverages have quietly become the most strategic play in QSR,” Matt Prince of Chapman University said in an email. “They can protect your margin, add incremental sales, pull traffic into the slow parts of the day, and tap a cultural moment faster than anything else on the menu.”

With its love for social media, Generation Z is a leading force in this trend, according to data firms used by the food and beverage industry, such as Technomics.

Trendy sips include refreshers, cold coffees and dirty sodas. All of them are customizable and most of them are photogenic, making them a shareable experience online.

Getting into the game

Two fast food giants are out in front when it comes to beverage menus.

McDonald’s entered what it called “a new era of drinks” when it added six elevated beverages to its menu in early May. There are three fruity refreshers and three crafted sodas, such as Orange Dream, made with Hi‑C Orange Lavaburst, and Dirty Dr. Pepper. Both are topped with vanilla cold foam.

McDonald’s didn’t stop there. It is topping clear cups with sipper lids to make it easier for customers to taste and see the inclusions. And it trained employees as beverage specialists to ensure that customers get a consistent drink experience at each of its restaurants, according to representatives.

Irvine-based Taco Bell is converting some of its restaurants into Live Más Cafés, including several in Southern California.

Cafes serve the same food as a regular Taco Bell but have an expanded beverage menu and their own design with gleaming white dining rooms accented by Taco Bell purple.

Cafes are designed “to feel modern, to feel welcoming,” according to Nola Krieg, director of product development.

At a mid-May preview of a new line of cold brew coffees with cold foam, she said the design helps customers who ask, “Why is Taco Bell getting into the beverage game?”

“I mean, why not? People love to come to us. We sell a lot of beverages today. I believe a stat I saw was 250 million beverages last year. And 60% of our food orders have a drink. So why not give people different offerings and different options in coming to this cafe?”

Regular Taco Bells serve dirty sodas such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew Baja Midnight as well as a Mountain Dew Dirty Soda Freeze, which is what the chain calls its slushes.

The days are long gone when the key question was, “Is Pepsi OK?” Dirty sodas – traditional fountain drinks with some kind of a plus – are a “defining beverage trend,” according to a recent article in Forbes. It cites data from the Food Institute that menu penetration is growing at a rate of 42%.

Chains that have embraced dirty sodas include Ziggi’s Coffee, which serves Dr Pepper with peach and vanilla creamer, and Sonic, where specialty sodas have names like Twisted Flamingo, which is Sprite, cherry vanilla and sweet cream.

Full-service restaurants that have gotten into the act include Finney’s Crafthouse, which spikes Dr Pepper with vanilla and coconut, and Applebee’s is inviting customers to “dirty up your favorite fountain soda with a creamy swirl of whipped cream and a cherry.”

There are also independent dirty soda shops, including two in Orange County called the Kickstand Soda Shop.

Built for speed

McDonald’s and Taco Bell are far from the only fast food chains touting original beverages. Dunkin’s summer menu features a Cherry Lime Rickey Refresher.

Refreshers are fruity beverages with bright colors. They are often lighter than traditional carbonated soft drinks. Many have a lemonade base that can be substituted with water, as Starbucks does. Dunkin’ is using a limeade base.

In March, Panera Bread launched a pair of caffeinated Energy Refreshers, dragonfruit and passion fruit, and two non-caffeinated Frescas, Cherry Lime and Strawberry Basil Lemonade. And it is currently offering new iced coffees with hazelnut, snickerdoodle and rocky rock foams and toppings as an app exclusive.

And Chick-fil-A recently brought back its Pineapple Dragonfruit beverages for the summer.

Rancho Cucamonga-based Klatch Coffee focuses on original beverages in its growing number of cafes inside Sprouts Farmers Markets. It usually switched out original beverages every month: cold coffees with fruit drinks, teas and matchas.

In May, the theme was “Rosy Sips,” with cold coffees featuring rose-whipped espresso foam. This month, the theme is “Boardwalk Refreshers” with beverages such as Coffee Cherry Tonic, Cold Brew Coffee Lemonade and an Arnold Palmer with passion fruit.

“While guests of all ages enjoy these types of drinks, they’re especially popular among younger customers, who are increasingly open and interested in non-traditional options,” Natasha Lozano, brand manager for Klatch Coffee, said in a statement.

Craft beverages are “the quickest conduit between brands and consumers when it comes to flavor and social trends,” according to Prince, an adjunct professor at Chapman, teaching communication and social media marketing. Formerly, he led public relations and social teams for Yum! Brands: Taco Bell and KFC.

“In the time it takes to develop a local test for a single food item, you can go straight to market with an entire lineup of beverages,” he wrote.

“That speed is built for Gen Z. Beverages highlight several younger consumer trends, including the rise in community, the importance of content and a perceived lower purchase commitment. It makes drinks a low-stakes way for consumers to try something new with friends and document their experience on social media.

“The result is broader awareness for brands and stronger demand from consumers.”

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 9:18 AM.