Latest news with #Sprite
The Hill
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Costco begins swapping out Pepsi products at food courts
(NEXSTAR) — Sorry, Pepsi fans, a change months in the making is finally taking effect at Costco that may upend your $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. Back in January, CEO Ron Vachris confirmed Costco would convert its 'food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola.' The switchover was expected to happen this summer, and, according to Reddit users claiming to be employees and customers, it has. In a statement to Nexstar, The Coca-Cola Company confirmed that its products began rolling out to Costco food courts on July 1. 'The news is true: Costco's legendary hot dog combo just got an ice-cold Coca-Cola upgrade.' Redditors across the U.S. shared that their local Costco warehouse had switched over, including locations in Tucson, Arizona; Fremont and Lakewood, California; Tampa; Chicago; St. Louis; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and Nashville, among others. One user even shared a photo from Sendai, Japan. Why Costco, Sam's Club typically have lower gas prices than other stations The changeover at Costco food courts in 14 countries is expected to be completed fall of this year. All locations will receive traditional fountain units, not the Freestyle machines you may find at other retailers and restaurants. Photos posted to Reddit show traditional soda fountains with eight dispensers each. Available offerings include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, and Minute Maid Lemonade. In some photos, Fuze Tea was an option, while others showed Powerade instead. Costco did not immediately respond to Nexstar's requests for additional information. Prior to Vachris' announcement, rumors had been circulating for months that Costco was planning to bring Coke back to the food court, drawing support from customers online. One Reddit user warned it 'better not be a December fools prank' while another said the then-rumor made their 'whole day.' Pepsi had been at Costco food court fountains for more than a decade, replacing Coca-Cola in 2013. When Costco swapped Coke for Pepsi, it was a move to help keep its beloved hot dog at $1.50. Costco has repeatedly reassured consumers over the last few years that it would not raise the price of its hot dog and soda combo, even as consumer prices rose and membership fees climbed. The combo has been available for $1.50 since the mid-1980s. The warehouse giant isn't the first to swap soda suppliers in recent years. Subway dropped Coke products for Pepsi last year. In early 2023, the Midwest fast-casual chain Culver's announced it was replacing Pepsi products with Coke, leaving some fans disappointed. Customers called it an 'all-time blunder' and one of the 'saddest' moments in their lives.
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
I tried an 'espresso lemonade' — can it match the beloved iced latte?
Whatever happened to a classic G&T? In the past year or so, it seems people are becoming increasingly bored by standard drink options, and are on the search for something more thrilling. It started with Dua Lipa mixing Diet Coke, pickle juice, and jalapeño brine. People declared the drink 'evil' on social media, but the trend spiralled into something much more sinister. Since Dua braved to share her guilty pleasure, influencers have revealed their own recipes: thinkk beer and Sprite, chocolate milk and vodka, and cucumber-infused gin. Others have dabbled with more extreme recipes. Arguably, the worst are the blue cheese and kimchi filthy martinis cropping up on TikTok (we have to draw the line somewhere). The latest concoction? An espresso lemonade. The Washington Post has declared it 'summer's most unexpected refresher'. And so, full of scepticism, I decided to find out for myself. With the London weather being unusually hot this year, I've had to swap my usual lattes for iced ones, but I might be the only person who just can't get on board. I just can't get past the bitter cold taste and have to mask it completely by ordering iced coffees with unreasonably expensive syrupy add-ons. But espresso lemonades might have just opened an entirely new world for me. The recipe is really as simple as it sounds. Order an espresso, and mix it together in a glass with ice and lemonade. I sourced my espresso from Pret and diet lemonade from M&S. Once I poured the lemonade in, it immediately fizzed up and looked quite similar to a Coke float, minus the ice cream. My first sip was interesting and bitter. A second later, I realised I stupidly hadn't mixed the two together. With a quick stir, the sharp coffee flavour blended into the refreshing lemonade. The taste wasn't much different from a regular lemonade, but with a familiar coffee aftertaste. I would definitely opt for a sugary lemonade over a diet next time, to sweeten it up a bit more. It's still much more refreshing than an iced coffee, and after trying it, I'm not sure I can ever go back to the cold milky nightmare mixture. This was lighter, and much more drinkable. Taking a sip of the unique concoction certainly raised a few eyebrows at Metro HQ, but after forcing one of my colleagues to try it, she agreed it wasn't half as strange as she expected. 'I expected to hate this arguably ungodly concoction, but surprisingly, I didn't,' Metro Lifestyle's Eleanor Noyce said. 'It needs near-constant mixing to make sure the lemonade and espresso shot aren't separated, but I thought it was the perfect blend of sweet and tangy. 'I wouldn't necessarily drink it unless I really needed an afternoon pick-me-up, though. For now, I'll probably stick to a classic iced latte.' And Metro's Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, an iced americano lover during the summer months, was equally surprised. 'I really thought this would be disgusting, but it's actually pretty decent. Like a fizzy coffee, if you will. 'It's honestly like nothing I've ever tasted before, a citrus addition to my beloved iced coffees. I'm not sure I'll be rushing to have another one though.' The recipe is simple, but if you want a step-by-step: Fill a cup with plenty of ice. Pour in a lemonade of your choice over ice until it covers 3/4 of the cup. Add one double-shot of espresso. If you're feeling fancy, garnish with it a lemon on the side or some mint. And if it's too bitter, add in some sugar. Make sure to mix it together before drinking. The drink may seem like a recent invention, hopping on the back of bizarre drink trends on TikTok, but coffee shops have been serving it for years, and the original lemon, sugar and coffee recipe actually dates back to the 19th century. An ancestor of the modern-day iced coffee, Mazagran Coffee is thought to have been created in the 1840s by French colonial troops in Algeria. The soldiers were stationed at the Mazagran fortress near Mostaganem, and mixed shot coffee with cold water and syrup to combat the heat. More Trending The drink later became popular in Portugal, parts of France and Austria, and now it's often served with lemon, sugar water and sometimes rum. The UK high street hasn't caught on to it yet, so don't expect to find any on Pret's menu. However, there's nothing stopping you from ordering a coffee and lemonade an independent coffee shop and mixing it yourself. View More » I can't promise you won't get any strange looks for it, though. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Urgent recall of Dubai chocolate that doesn't declare it contains peanuts MORE: Deaths, fires and prison breaks: The mystery behind the eerie Annabelle doll MORE: 'Hidden gem' crowned the UK's top budget-friendly beach to visit this summer Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
India.com
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- India.com
7 Refreshing Tropical Mocktail Recipes To Beat The Summer Heat Naturally
Samta Pahuja Jul 16, 2025 Tropical Escape in a Glass! Blend pineapple juice, coconut milk & ice. Garnish with mint. Summer in Every Sip, Crushed mint + mango pulp + lemon juice + soda. Sweet, tangy & super refreshing! Beat the Heat Naturally, Fresh watermelon juice + lime + basil seeds. A Zesty Tropical Treat, Mix passion fruit pulp with soda & honey. Fizz up your mood instantly! Delicate & Dreamy, Coconut water + lychee juice + ice. Light, floral, and perfect for hot days! Green, Clean & Cooling, Kiwi + cucumber + lemon juice + mint leaves. Low-cal & detox-friendly! Make It Pop! Blue curacao syrup + lemon juice + Sprite. Colourful, citrusy, and insta-worthy! Read Next Story
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Kroger adds seasonal Coca-Cola flavor Walmart, Target won't offer
While fast-food chains always had a handful of seasonal items, it wasn't a major trend. Burger King and Wendy's would add fish sandwiches for Lent season, and the Shamrock Shake was a McDonald's annual seasonal offering that came out around Patrick's Day, but seasonality was somewhat limited. Enter Starbucks. Related: Starbucks makes a move to battle slowing customer interest The coffee chain has made having a seasonal beverage menu table stakes for any coffee company. It's something even chains like McDonald's that have a coffee program have had to adopt. People expect that the fall season means offering pumpkin spice, and that the winter season means peppermint, eggnog, and other appropriate flavors. The fast-food industry used to operate more around movie releases and tying special food to things not dependent on the calendar. But while they do still happen, movie tie-ins are becoming increasingly rare. Now it's much more likely for companies to try to establish offerings on a seasonal basis. That's something Wendy's has done with the Summer Strawberry Salad and some of its Frosty flavors. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter This trend has spread to grocery stores, where seasonal soda flavors have become a thing. Some brands, like PepsiCo's Mountain Dew, offer so many new flavors each season that they can spread them out between retailers and restaurant chains. Coca-Cola, however, only has very limited seasonal flavors. That makes it surprising that its winter take on Sprite will only be offered at Kroger. It's only a fairly recent development that Coca-Cola's (KO) Sprite has featured brand extension flavors. That used to be something limited to Coke, as cola lends itself well to adding everything from fruit flavors to vanilla, cinnamon, and other options. Sprite, however, has been mixed with lemonade and has hit store shelves in other extensions of the popular lemon-lime classic flavor. It's not as easy to expand the Sprite brand as it is to create new Coke flavors. Adding cranberry flavor to Sprite made sense, but Sprite Vanilla Frost, a flavor that first came out in 2024 as a Kroger exclusive, seems less logical. Vanilla does not automatically seem to go with lemon and lime, and the original launch was fairly polarizing. More Retail News: Starbucks executives to get huge bonus as baristas demand better payWalmart, Sam's Club makes major donation for Texas flood reliefHome Depot spends billions on major acquisition "The broad public opinion of this soda was not enormously positive; I was sent plenty of pictures of Kroger stores flush with stock of this limited-time-only soda well into the promotional period. It turns out no one was crying out for vanilla baked-good sweetness added to their Sprite," Sporked reported. That's anecdotal, so maybe those cases flew off the shelves after the soda was around for a while, but it certainly seemed like Sprite Vanilla Frost was not a clear winner. Even though its first run may not have gone that well, Kroger (KR) will bring Sprite Vanilla Frost back as an exclusive flavor beginning in November. Perhaps the flavor will build a following in its second year, or maybe Sprite completists will simply need to own some to round out their collections. If they want it, Kroger will be the only option, since it's an exclusive product you won't find at Target, Walmart, Amazon, or any regional grocery chain. Coca-Cola has been working to tailor its product release to each market around the world. That's something CEO James Quincey talked about during its first-quarter earnings call. "During the quarter, some markets improved sequentially while other markets faced macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions that impacted consumer confidence and consumption behaviors. Despite this backdrop, we delivered robust organic revenue growth through our stepped-up capabilities and better than ever system alignment. We're getting more granular and tailoring our execution to win locally in key geographies, categories, and channels," he said. Related: Coca-Cola brings back controversial Coke flavor Quincey had mixed feelings about Coca-Cola's North American performance, and Sprite was not one of the highlights he mentioned. "Bright spots include continued volume growth for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, another good quarter for fairlife and Topo Chico Sabores, and continued traction with food service customer renewals and new accounts," he added. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Dirty Water hard seltzer is disjointed, weird and ... kinda nice?
So we've got a weird one today. The drink up for review is Dirty Water, a 4.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) seltzer that clocks in at 90 calories and only comes in one flavor. I grew up in New England, which means "dirty water" refers to Boston's Charles River and Red Sox wins of varying importance. So it's a little weird to see a hard seltzer with the name that proudly hails from New York City -- home to all the best salsas and Boston's nemesis. But hey, the can has cool old school graphics and comes in a rare regular fit design instead of seltzer's typical slim fit. I'm on board. Let's see how it tastes. Dirty Water: C+ It pours clear with moderate carbonation -- honestly, that's fewer bubbles than I expected. The smell off the top is generic alcohol (seems like vodka) and just a hint of citrus sweetness. It's nicer than it sounds, but still at least a liitttttle sketchy. That weirdness persists. The first sip is sweet and mildly boozy. Not in a way that burns, but in a way that makes it clear this isn't a Sprite or seltzer. The minimal carbonation leaves a bit of a lingering aftertaste that kinda feels like vodka Fruit Stripe gum. This isn't my favorite, but it's also not bad. Dirty Water is operating on a curve. It delivers more alcohol (4.5 percent by volume) than a light beer with fewer calories (90). That could have left it trapped in the realm of pointlessness like Bluebird Hardwater. Instead it has a definite thesis. Booze and a little citrus/pear sweetness. At the same time, it feels like there's room for improvement. I'm sipping mine close to the best by: date, so it's possible this is a me problem -- but I feel crisper carbonation would be a boon here. I find La Croix remarkably pointless, but I do feel like leaning harder into that "seltzer" amount of bubbles would be a quick fix. It's weird. I think I like it, but it's weird. The mild fruit sweetness and overall flavor profile reminds me of fortune cookie gum, which is a sentence that makes no sense but that's kinda Dirty Water's whole vibe. It's a New York City seltzer that shares a name with a song that celebrates Boston. Strange, but fine. That's where I landed. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Dirty Water over a cold can of Hamm's? No. Dirty Water is a nice cool down drink, but I don't think I could handle it in my regular rotation. This is part of FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
