Seventy years after the famous handshake that sealed one of the most iconic partnerships in American capitalism, the relationship between McDonald’s and Coca-Cola is beginning to show signs of strain.
What may look like a small crack is, in fact, part of a broader strategic shift. McDonald’s is preparing to launch a line of Red Bull energy drinks, the first such move in the chain’s history. At the same time, it has introduced six new carbonated drinks of its own this year, along with brightly colored “dirty soda” and refreshers aimed at younger consumers.
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McDonald’s and Coca-Cola is beginning to show signs of strain
(Photo: AP, Charles Rex Arbogast, Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
The change is being driven by both economics and shifting consumer habits. Hamburger sales in the United States have slowed, while Starbucks and Dunkin’ have shown that drinks can become multibillion-dollar businesses in their own right. The global drinks market has nearly doubled over the past 15 years to $100 billion, and McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski wants a larger share of it.
In 2025, Kempczinski appointed Charlie Newberger to a new role created specifically to develop McDonald’s drinks business. “We need someone thinking exclusively about what our beverage business should look like five years from now,” Kempczinski said at the time.
The relationship between Coca-Cola and McDonald’s has not always been seamless, even if the tensions rarely broke into the open. In the 2000s, as soda sales declined, the two companies tried several joint efforts that failed to gain traction. Coca-Cola’s Freestyle machine, which allowed customers to mix their own drinks, did not significantly boost sales, and Coca-Cola’s Vitaminwater failed a test run at McDonald’s restaurants.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s made room in some soda fountains for rival Dr Pepper, and even experimented with selling PepsiCo products.
Coca-Cola has reason to be concerned. Within the company, working on the McDonald’s account is considered prestigious, and the head of the division responsible for the partnership reports directly to Coca-Cola’s CEO. Coca-Cola’s new CEO, Henrique Braun, has said the partnership with McDonald’s remains “fantastic,” but added cautiously: “We respect their decisions, but we always strive to be the number one provider for every beverage occasion for all consumers.”
The real trigger for the shift came from Starbucks. The coffee chain that began in Seattle has already proved that brightly colored drinks with elaborate names can generate loyalty and billions in sales. Its Refreshers line has become a $2 billion brand.
McDonald’s tried to build an independent drinks concept of its own in 2023 with CosMc’s. The experiment did not last. The chain shut down the brand after a year and a half, but executives saw the test as a source of lessons for the company’s next move.
For now, customers trying McDonald’s new dirty sodas and Red Bull combinations at test locations in Colorado and Wisconsin are already responding enthusiastically online.
“Oh no, I think I have a new addiction. This is really good,” one customer wrote on TikTok after trying a Red Bull drink at McDonald’s.