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McDonald's Rolls Out Six New Drinks, Adds Beverage Specialists

4/28/2026

Summary

McDonald's Launches Drinks

McDonald's USA will launch six crafted beverages on May 6.
The lineup includes a mango-pineapple refresher with strawberry boba, a blackberry-passion fruit refresher with dragon fruit, and a dirty Dr Pepper drink with vanilla and cold foam.
Chief marketing officer Alyssa Buetikofer said the drinks aim to boost afternoon sales.
The chain will add a beverage specialist role at its 14,000 U.S. restaurants to tap the $100 billion beverage market.

Summary

McDonald's Tests Refresher

McDonald's created six new Refresher drinks in the CosMc's testing phase; they are non-carbonated and moderately caffeinated.
Brand reps, franchise owners and chefs showed a trial-and-error process at a tasting at Hamburger University in Chicago.
Journalists sampled the drinks and gave immediate feedback that will shape final preparation guidelines across the chain.
A Beverage Specialist will train teammates on drink assembly, reinforcing McDonald's push to broaden its U.S. beverage portfolio.

Summary

McDonald's Expands Drinks

McDonald’s Canada will launch its new permanent beverage roster on May 5, 2026.
The menu adds crafted sodas, fruity refreshers and iced coffees while retaining classic pop, coffee and juice.
Crafted sodas blend a soda base with fruit syrups and are topped with thick foam.
President Annemarie Swijtink says the drinks aim to attract a younger, social-media-influenced crowd and expand McDonald’s image beyond burgers.

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McDonald's Launches Drinks

McDonald's USA will launch six crafted beverages on May 6.
The lineup includes a mango-pineapple refresher with strawberry boba, a blackberry-passion fruit refresher with dragon fruit, and a dirty Dr Pepper drink with vanilla and cold foam.
Chief marketing officer Alyssa Buetikofer said the drinks aim to boost afternoon sales.
The chain will add a beverage specialist role at its 14,000 U.S. restaurants to tap the $100 billion beverage market.

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