McDonald’s Could Be Adding Protein Drinks, Energy Drinks, And More

McDonald's
Photo: "McDonald's New Hamburger University" by Dirk Tussing, CC BY 2.0

Earlier this year, the McDonald’s Worldwide Convention took place in Las Vegas. While the main stage was packed with keynote speeches from executives within the McDonald’s ecosystem and beyond, the show floor featured plenty of innovations in contention for nationwide release.

Over the event’s four days, dozens of drink concepts were available for sampling. Thanks to McDonald’s franchise owner @McFranchisee, we got a good glimpse at (hopefully) all of them. The full list of plausible future menu additions tackles nearly every major beverage trend.

Spiced Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso: Sabrina’s impact can’t be understated. This doubleshot of espresso is shaken with spiced brown sugar flavoring and topped with Oatly oat milk. The description notes that the use of oat-based cold foam keeps it dairy free.
Pistachio Shaken Espresso: Meanwhile, this doubleshot of espresso is shaken with a creamy pistachio flavoring and topped with Oatly oat milk.
McDonaldland Cookie Cold Brew: A nostalgic McDonaldland Cookie flavoring is mixed into cold brew topped with a honey cold foam.
Churro Cold Brew: The standard McDonald’s cold brew gets a dose of golden caramel and cinnamon churro flavors, plus a spiced oat-based cold foam on top, making it a third dairy-free offering.
Iced Berry Ube Vanilla Matcha: Berry ube-flavored cold foam tops a vanilla-matcha-oat milk combination in this particularly surprising offering. Per McDonald’s, the “sweet flavor profile makes it the perfect entry point” for people who haven’t experienced matcha before.
Iced Protein Coco Mocha: The chocolate version of fairlife’s 2% Ultra-Filtered milk pairs with coconut flavoring, espresso, and a cold foam topping for a creamy, tropical mocha.
Iced Golden Protein Macchiato: McDonald’s knows their classic Caramel Macchiato is pretty heavy with little upside. This reduced-sugar version combines espresso, 2% fairlife Ultra-Filtered Milk (containing 50% less sugar and 50% more protein than traditional milk), sugar-free vanilla, and a golden caramel syrup.
Iced Hazelnut Truffle Oat Milk Mocha: White chocolate, hazelnut, and espresso join oat milk beneath a chocolate cold foam for a particularly decadent iced coffee. The description here specifically calls out Oatly as the drink’s oat milk of choice.

In addition to coffee-based innovation, McDonald’s is also continuing to innovate with a new line of Red Bull-based energizers alongside their existing refreshers.

Red Bull Zero Popping Citrush Energizer: Yuzu, mango, and popping boba come together with Red Bull Zero over ice for a sweet-and-sour energy offering.
Red Bull Zero Triple Berry Energizer: Three sweet berry flavors are added to Red Bull Zero, alongside freeze-dried blackberries and a splash of coconut milk, for a pick-me-up that’s sweeter than tart.
Red Bull Zero Blue Ocean Energizer: McDonald’s is staying mum about which tropical flavors are mixed with Red Bull Zero and topped with coconut-flavored cold foam. Considering the end result is a green-blue gradient, I won’t even hazard a guess.
Red Bull Peach Boost Energizer: The only full-sugar Red Bull Energizer didn’t come with a full description like the others, but we can assume it features mango flavoring mixed with classic Red Bull over ice. No popping boba here!
Red Bull Zero Strawberry Shortcake Energizer: Strawberry and cream flavors join Red Bull Zero for a dessert-inspired energy drink. Freeze-dried strawberries are included for a hint of authenticity to boot.
Strawberry Lychee Refresher with lemonade or coconut milk: McDonald’s currently offers their entire Refresher lineup with either lemonade or water; this is the first Refresher to be offered with coconut milk as a base option. Whether you pick lemonade or coconut milk, you’ll get strawberry and lychee flavors layered together with freeze-dried strawberries for additional texture.
Sunburst Refresher with lemonade: Described as “sippable sunshine” with a look to match, this gradiated lemonade is mixed with pineapple flavoring and miniature passionfruit popping boba.
Paradise Refresher with water: This water-based refresher combines mango and coconut flavoring, doubling down on the latter with a coconut-flavored cold foam topping.

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