If you had school children at home in the spring of 2020, you likely had to think about what sort of liquids you consumed throughout the day.
Stuck at home with a job, housework, and pseudo-homeschooling to do, it may have occurred to you that you could hit your liquor cabinet, wine rack, or beer fridge as early as you wanted and maybe keep at it all day. This quickly proved a disaster.
Just as likely, you started the coffee at dawn and never stopped. By 1 p.m., you had the jitters. At 1 a.m., you were regretting all your decisions.
The great need was something interesting to drink that was neither an upper nor a downer — something besides plain water that could satisfy your urge to imbibe without chemically altering you.
SodaStream‘s sales ballooned out of control. The product enabled you to carbonate your own water and add whatever flavor you wanted — from strawberry syrup to mint leaves. Many of us became La Croix devotees in those days. Brewers started selling “hop water,” an IPA without the ale.
But for a slice of the population, this desire to drink without caffeine or alcohol was nothing new. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prohibits both chemicals, and so the LDS folks have plenty of experience coming up with more interesting beverages.
Swig, a chain of drive-through soda peddlers, opened in 2010 and helped make famous the idea of “dirty soda.” It would take a root beer and add some cream, or take a Sprite and add a fruity syrup. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, a reality television show, helped spread the gospel of dirty soda.
Now the soda companies are getting in on this. “From Pepsico to Taco Bell, Dirty Soda is Taking Over,” the CNBC headline blared.
“Dirty Dew” is Mountain Dew and cream soda in a can. Mug now has a root beer float in a can. Wild cherry and cream Pepsi is already on the shelves.
Of course, if you took up La Croix in 2020 to avoid the sugar, this sugary and caffeinated stuff might miss the purpose.
But the trend is clear: People want to drink something interesting that won’t make them pass out or keep them up, and there’s a profit to make in finding creative answers.
