How PepsiCo is bottling the biggest drink trends of the summer

What does summer taste like in 2026? Depending on who you ask, it might taste like a fruit punch soda made for "Love Island" watch parties, a creamy citrus twist on a social media-fueled dirty soda order, a sparkling water version of a melted red-white-and-blue ice pop, or a root beer float you can grab straight from the fridge.

That range says a lot about where beverage culture is heading. Most people aren’t just looking for something cold and refreshing. They’re looking for drinks that feel like part of the moment — something shareable, conversation-starting and, ideally, a little unexpected. For PepsiCo, that means paying close attention to the rituals people are already building around drinks, then finding creative ways to bring those ideas to life at scale.

“Consumers are looking for experiences, not just products,” said Michael Smith, VP of marketing, flavored sparkling beverages. “Customization speaks to personalization, nostalgia taps into emotional connection, and decadence reflects a desire to treat yourself. Those aren’t separate trends — they’re overlapping signals of how people want more from what they consume.”

When fandom becomes a flavor

Returning for another summer, poppi’s Punch Pop is here by popular demand. The sweet, juicy, fruit-punch flavored prebiotic soda delivers notes of pineapple, cherry, apple, and citrus in a limited-edition "Love Island" can made to feel right at home at the villa, on social feeds, and in real-life watch parties. With 30 calories, 5 grams of sugar, 3 grams of prebiotic fiber, and no caffeine, the soda is playful in both flavor and personality.

The idea worked because the connection was already real, explains Sophia Sesto, VP of culture, poppi. “'Love Island' isn’t just a show — it’s the cultural moment of the summer,” said Sesto. “Our audience is social-first and deeply plugged into cultural conversation, and 'Love Island' fans are the same people.” Rather than inventing something entirely new to chase attention, poppi brought back a returning favorite and let the partnership amplify what fans already loved.

That authenticity mattered. “We weren’t seeing a 'Love Island' trend on social media and rushing to slap our logo on it,” said Sesto. “We had already built credibility inside that fandom.”

Kristina MacIntosh, poppi’s SVP of marketing, adds that getting the full experience right — from can design to retail presence to sweepstakes and social content — was just as important as the flavor itself. “The campaign had to marry from retail to real time,” said MacIntosh. “We wanted grocery store shelves to feel like an extension of the anticipation people already felt online.”

Customizable culture, canned

If poppi shows how fandom can shape a launch, Dirty Mountain Dew shows how customization culture can move from a niche order to a national shelf. Inspired by the rise of dirty soda — the made-to-order mix of soda, cream, and flavored syrups that exploded on social media — Dirty Mountain Dew brings its take on this trend into a ready-to-drink format with Mountain Dew’s signature citrus flavor and a smooth, creamy flavor finish. It's available nationwide in 20-ounce bottles and 12-pack 12-ounce cans, including a zero-sugar option.

The point is not to recreate every custom dirty soda order out there. It is to capture the part people love most: that slightly unexpected twist on a familiar favorite, Smith explains.

“Customization is really about giving people a more personalized experience,” said Smith. “With Dirty Mountain Dew, we took what consumers were already doing — adding creamy elements and flavored syrups to soda — and asked how we could deliver a similar experience in a convenient, ready-to-drink format.” He said the team focused on preserving the essence of the trend rather than every variation, creating a drink that feels “both familiar and entirely new.”

For the nostalgics

Summer nostalgia is having a moment, and bubly’s Melted Ice Pop captures it in a can. Back for a limited time in the U.S. and launching this month in Canada, the fan-favorite sparkling water blends cherry, lime, and raspberry flavors with other natural flavors. The result is the nostalgic taste of the classic red, white, and blue ice pops that signal the start of summer. It is playful and instantly recognizable but still aligned with what bubly fans expect: a refreshing sparkling water with no calories and no artificial sweeteners.

That thinking helps explain why Melted Ice Pop keeps returning. It's not just a novelty flavor; it’s a familiar summer cue, reimagined for sparkling water fans who want something fun and refreshing. Smith describes it as a flavor that taps the best of summer moments like “chasing the ice cream truck” as a kid, while still fitting the easygoing, no-calorie personality of bubly.

For the treat seekers

MUG Root Beer is also leaning into the dirty soda trend this summer with MUG Root Beer Floats Vanilla Howler™, the brand’s first limited-edition flavor release. Launching nationwide this month, the drink combines the bold, rich taste of MUG Root Beer with a creamy vanilla flavor twist inspired by a classic root beer float. It will be available in both original and zero sugar in 12-ounce can multipacks and 20-ounce single-serve bottles.

“It’s a new twist that stays true to the MUG flavor fans know and love, while giving them something even more decadence to enjoy all summer long,” said Smith. It’s the kind of launch that feels both playful and comforting — a treat-forward idea rooted in a familiar favorite.

How PepsiCo’s ideas go from culture to cart

Across all four drinks, the strategy starts with listening. PepsiCo looks for behaviors that show up consistently to meet consumers’ evolving preferences. “The most important signal is when a consumer behavior shows up consistently, not just as a flash in the pan,” said Smith. “Our role isn’t to jump on the bandwagon of every trend. It’s to listen to consumer preferences, identify what has staying power, and translate it into something we can scale in a way that’s true to our brands.”

That only works when the cultural connection is authentic from the start. “If the connection isn’t clear, consumers will feel it immediately,” said Smith. “Authenticity isn’t something you can add later — it has to be there from the start.”

From there, speed matters, but so does discipline. Teams move quickly from insight to idea to testing, while making sure the concept fits the brand and delivers every time. “When the product and the cultural moment are aligned, it doesn’t feel like we’re chasing trends,” said Sesto. “It feels like a true collaboration.”

MacIntosh sees retail as part of that same story. “The aisle is no longer neutral ground,” said MacIntosh. By the time consumers see a can or bottle in store, they may already have encountered it on social media, in memes, in a group chat or at a watch party. Packaging, placement, and timing must feel connected to the world they are already living in. That’s what turns buzz into basket-building.

When all that lines up, a trend doesn’t just become a product — it becomes a moment people want to be part of.

Made for the moment

PepsiCo isn’t just making drinks for the shelf. The company is creating drinks for watch parties, beach days, backyard hangs, delivery orders, and moments that spark nostalgia. And when the right idea lands, it can do more than tap into a trend. It can help define the season.