‘Dirty soda' trend finally lands in Australia
'Dirty soda' combines soft drink such as Sprite or Coca-Cola with flavoured syrups or creamers. The carbonated concoctions have become incredibly popular in the Mormon community, as it satisfies the addictive cravings of coffee, tea and alcohol, which their religion prevents them from indulging in.
The name 'dirty soda' came about as the drinks are so sugary they were deemed 'dirty'.
For instance, Whitney Leavitt, who skyrocketed to fame thanks to her role in the Hulu reality TV series, revealed her go-to order from American soda chain Swig was called 'The Fighter'. It combines water, sugar free vanilla, fresh lime, raspberry puree, sugar free peach and sugar free pineapple.
Now, 'dirty soda' shops have started popping up in Australia — specifically Queensland — with TikTok filled with small businesses dipping a toe in the water.
Madi and Will own What's Poppin, Queensland's first dirty soda shop. Madi, who was born in Canada before moving to Australia when she was 10, said she first found out about dirty soda during a holiday to Utah where she was introduced to the concept.
She added that growing up in Canada, soft drink culture was also incredibly big and she remembered going to the local petrol station during school breaks to get a drink.
Six months ago, she and her partner finally opened their business after being in the planning stages for five years.
'We've been doing this for six months. We were the first dirty soda shop here in Australia, and then you've probably seen a few others,' she told news.com.au.
'Those are pretty much my customers who have tried it, loved it and wanted to start it because it's a great idea.'
Madi said when the business first started, she would link the carbonated beverages to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and MomTok (primarily Utah-based Mormon mothers on TikTok) and while some people would know it from that, many Aussies had no idea. This meant she had to find a new way to market the fizzy drinks.
It took two years for her to source all of the products — which she said she was grateful for as it was more in line with Australia's love of natural and clean in comparison to overseas options — and she started making variations at home.
'It made me realise I could do it, and it tasted so bomb. I just knew it was such a niche product that Australia had never seen before, so there was a gap in the market for it,' the business owner said.
The 22-year-old said it's taken a bit of work to get Aussies on board with the concept but that 60 per cent of her customers were repeat ones because most people who tried it 'fell in love' with it.
Madi said she sees it becoming a big feature of the Australian beverage market, adding to the coffee culture 3pm pick up that we already see. She's keen to give consumers alternative options to the beverages already available.
Currently, the business is solely at markets, pop ups and events such as birthday parties and weddings, but there are plans to expand What's Poppin' in the future. Until then, they have 'Poppin Pouches' so you can create your own dirty soda at home.
Madi recommended two options for Aussies who may want to try it but are unsure what to expect — Sodies, which includes Coke or Coke Zero, coconut syrup, coconut cream and lime, or Slay, which is Sprite, pineapple, passionfruit and fresh lemon.
Talisha owns Fizz, another dirty soda shop in Queensland, and has been trading for a month. Like Madi, she also predominantly operates at markets.
The Fizz owner has previously worked as a barista, and while she was drinking a lot of coffee she realised it didn't quite agree with her. She always loved a Diet Coke, so after seeing countless how-to videos online she decided to make her own dirty soda.
'I literally just bought it from Woolies, and I thought it was delicious,' she told news.com.au.
'I saw there was a gap in the market for a drink that wasn't tea or coffee. Because I did work as a barista for so long — and in hospitality in general — I had co-workers that were drinking like two massive cans of like Monster or Red Bull so early in the morning because they didn't want coffee.
'I saw that there was potential in the market of another fun drink that doesn't have to be coffee.'
Like Madi, Talisha said some people were familiar with the style of beverage from the popular Mormon reality TV show but she was starting to see a shift in that now. She said the pop-ups her business has done have performed really well, adding the dream for her business would be a location with a drive-through.
The 26-year-old said a surprise for her personally was seeing how much Aussies were embracing Dr Pepper as a dirty soda base.
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