Coca-Cola Develops 2027 Custom Energy Drinks and Automated Dirty Sodas as Beverage Demand Shifts
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 22
Coca-Cola Develops 2027 Custom Energy Drinks and Automated Dirty Sodas as Beverage Demand Shifts
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 22
Summary
Coca-Cola is building new food-service equipment to automate dirty sodas, refreshers and other customizable drinks, while planning a white-label energy drink launch in the first half of 2027.
67 billion 8-ounce Freestyle servings have given Coke a real-time testing platform for flavor trends, helping it decide which drinks to push in restaurants and potentially later in stores.
The push targets a market where specialty beverage chains now span more than 41,000 U.S. locations and restaurant drink servings outpaced food-only and food-with-beverage occasions in the second quarter.
69% of Coke's unit case volume still comes from sparkling soft drinks, so trends like dirty soda let it refresh soda's appeal while defending sales against rivals and restaurant partners' broader beverage ambitions.
McDonald's, Wendy's and others are expanding handcrafted drink menus to lift traffic and margins, increasing pressure on Coke to supply convenient, customizable options or risk losing placements to competitors.