A beverage expert weighs in on why this sugary social media favorite may fizzle out faster than you think
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Dirty sodas creamy, flavor-packed soft drinks have gone from a Utah cult favorite to a national craze with brands like Pepsi and Taco Bell joining in.
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Beverage expert Tony Vieira says the concept isnt entirely new people have been mixing milk, syrups, and soda for decades, from root beer floats to DIY Pepsi-and-milk concoctions.
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While trends come and go, Vieira believes dirty sodas could evolve beyond a fad, inspiring more creative dirty twists in both nonalcoholic and alcoholic drinks.
If youve scrolled through social media lately, youve probably seen people raving about dirty sodas fizzy drinks mixed with cream, syrups, and flavor shots. What started as a regional Utah favorite has bubbled into a national trend, with big names like Pepsi and Taco Bell getting in on the action.
But are dirty sodas the next big beverage boom or just another sugar-laden fad?
To find out, ConsumerAffairs spoke with Tony Vieira, a beverage industry veteran whos helped shape brands like Anheuser-Busch, Blue Moon, and White Claw. Vieira has watched countless drink trends rise and fizzle and he has some thoughts on where this ones headed.
The origins of dirty soda
While the idea of mixing soda with milk and other flavorings has gained widespread popularity recently, where did the trend originate?
My earliest recollection goes back to the 1970s when I drank Pepsi with milk, inspired by Penny Marshall from Lavern and Shirley, Vieira said. I was about 10 years old, and my entire neighborhood of kids gathered in my backyard to make our own Pepsi and Milk concoctions. Of course, root beer floats predate that moment.
One could also argue that cocktails were the original dirty sodas. And if we think about it further, what about coffee or tea? Who was the first person to add milk? In the broadest sense, dirty soda is at least as old as soda itself.
The recent craze
According to Vieira, the appeal of dirty soda appears to be driven by a confluence of cultural influences and market dynamics.
Consider the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, created by Segway inventor Dean Kamen in 2009, he said. The Freestyle dispensers redefined soda dispensing in much the same way that the Instant Pot reinvented slow cooking.
Consumers were suddenly able to customize up to 150 different flavor combinations at the press of a button. This kind of customization could be considered a form of real-time dirty soda creation.
More recently, Vieira credits Swig, the Utah-based soda company that gained popularity for its appearance on the reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, for officially coining the term dirty soda.
Will the trend last?
While only time will tell if dirty sodas stand the test of time, Vieira believes this is one trend that has lasting potential.
I tend to view the beverage market through what I call a compound lens, he said. This framework allows the market to be analyzed through a series of focused perspectives that reveal specific consumer segments and emerging trends.
The concept of dirty soda seems to be rapidly evolving into what I would call a beverage formulation free-for-all. Both nonalcoholic and alcoholic companies alike are experimenting with new versions of dirty, from lemonades to functional beverages to mixed cocktails.
Posted: 2025-10-06 18:07:25
