McD heads, rejoice! “Refreshers” are coming to/for ya!
IDK what a refresher is, but it sounds like a cold sugar drink. #tracks
So, like a thin smoothie? Or just another name for “drink”?
I’m going with “drink.”
You know, like “broth” is now called “bone broth.” 
1 Like
Awww, I’m disappointed.
I thought a childhood favourite had crossed the Atlantic.
Made just up the road in New Mills.
1 Like
“what is known as a crafted or dirty soda — like Sprite mixed with blueberry syrup and topped with whipped foam.”
Oh good lord. This sounds absolutely vile.
"For the uninitiated, refreshers have two essential components: They are cold and bright. “They come in vibrant colors,” said Alyssa Buetikofer, the chief marketing and customer experience officer for the 14,000 McDonald’s locations in the United States. “They are very Instagrammable.”"
Annnnnd there you go. Aimed at pouring more sugar down the throats of the young’uns. I looked up a Dunkin’ Mango Pineapple Refresher (which is green tea-based) and it has 29g of total sugar - and it’s ALL ADDED SUGAR.
Nutrition Facts…Per Serving…Medium
Calories 130
% Daily Value*
Total Fat…0g… 0%
Saturated Fat…0g…0%
Trans Fat…0g
Cholesterol…0mg…0%
Sodium…15mg…1%
Total Carbohydrate…32g…12%
Dietary Fiber…0g…0%
**Total Sugars…29g **
Includes Added Sugars…29g…58%
Protein…1g
Vitamin D…0mcg…0%
Calcium…12mg…0%
Iron…0mg…0%
Potassium…25mg…0%
Caffeine…99mg
I just can’t with this shit.
"It’s almost easier to say what a refresher is not. It is not a coffee or a tea. It is whatever we decide it to be,” echoed Claire Conaghan, a “trendologist” at Datassential, a market research firm in Chicago. “Brands will call a strawberry lemonade a refresher, but really it’s just a strawberry lemonade.”
A “trendologist”. :::Sigh:::
1 Like
BUT THEY ARE SO PRETTYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Maybe we’re just old 
1 Like
how can we charge $6.89 (that’s the price for a medium one at my nearest Dunkin Donuts) for something that costs 0.08 to produce? the Refresher. when soda gets old, and the margins on coffee are too thin? the Refresher. also, see popcorn at movie theatres.
3 Likes
Sometimes Mexican Aguas Frescas are called Refrescas. Makes sense.
1 Like
See, that’s a major ICK for me. Pepsi Vanilla, Pepsi Blue - nope.
Steel yourself. One of them was Pepsi coconut.
Oh, my.
I was at the World of Coffee US expo in San Diego over the weekend, and Pepsi had a booth, pushing their “dirty soda” syrups.
This was at the “Eater Under Wraps Holiday House” in Soho, probably the same presentation.
I think the writer of the article is a bit confused.
Dirty soda is a Utah thing; it’s supposed to create a coffee-like experience for people who can’t drink coffee. The original version was Dr Pepper mixed with nondairy creamer. (Ew. I think. I’m never going to try it and find out.)
“Refreshers” – at least as served at Starbucks for the past several years (my daughter and her friends are regular consumers) – are basically watered down juice-like drinks. (Made with syrup, not real juice.) Maybe some of them have whipped cream, but my daughter’s usual choice, the “strawberry acai refresher” has none. Some do have some added caffeine but making it look like coffee is also totally not a goal.
So, completely different products and target demographics.
1 Like
Fast food soft drink mark-up is over 1,000%. That’s why Mickey D’s added refreshers, aka sugary, fruit-ish drinks, and because adding drinks is relatively easy.
Given that fountain soda usually has a 1,125% markup, it should be no surprise that fountain drinks are some of the most profitable fast food items. Be sure to maximize your money-making potential with tiered pricing by offering multiple sizes at different price points. If given the option, most customers will order a larger, more expensive size, increasing your earnings from the sale. [LINK]
1 Like
Looks like a medium Dunkin’ cold drink is 24 oz, even if the refresher is half ice and only 12 oz of actual beverage, it’s still lower in sugar than many sodas
It’s def a trend, and is at least partially attributable to MORMONS.
They whole caffeine prohibition means they get their jolts from sugar. Modified ‘dirty’ sodas, basically infinite variations on old-timey ice cream sodas, phosphates, and egg creams (contains neither egg nor cream).
There are entire soda chains in Utah that are the LDS social equivalent of Peets or Starbucks where kids hang out after school, etc.
Edit- just saw @a_m made a similar point. That’s what I get for not reading to the end of the thread.
I mostly don’t care for the trend, given I never even warmed up to the ‘normal’ ice cream sodas or root beer floats. Fizzy plus creamy feels wrong to me.
2 Likes
I guess you don’t like sour milk, either! 
1 Like
