If you have been on social media at all in the last couple of years you probably are aware of the dirty sodas trend but in case you’re not, here’s what you need to know about what they are, if they’re vegan and where to get them.
What Are Dirty Sodas?
Dirty sodas are fountain-style sodas that get dressed up with flavored syrups, fruit purees, and a splash of creamer. The classic build is a diet soda poured over ice with a pump of coconut syrup, a squeeze of fresh lime, and a pour of cream. A simple formula, but with endless variations.
The result is something that feels more like a craft beverage than a gas station drink, which is the whole point. It’s customizable, refreshing, and the kind of thing people get obsessed with ordering a specific way every single time kind of like your personalized coffee or tea shop order.
To be clear, mixing cream or dairy with soda is not a brand new idea. Egg creams have been a New York staple since the 1800s, black and white sodas ruled the soda fountain era, and the milk and Pepsi crowd has been quietly devoted for decades (always a running gag on Laverne & Shirley!). But dirty sodas are something different. The specific combination of flavored syrups, fruit purees, fresh citrus, and creamer poured over nugget ice with a fully customizable order ritual attached to it created a format that a whole new generation has claimed as their own. Same concept, completely new context, and clearly it is resonating.
Where Did Dirty Sodas Come From?
Dirty sodas originally took off in the early 2010s as a treat tailored to the lifestyle of the Mormon church. The LDS faith traditionally prohibits alcohol and coffee but places no restrictions on soda. So while Starbucks was building a global empire around the morning coffee ritual, Utah was quietly developing its own version, one built around drive-throughs, flavored syrups, and custom orders.
A dirty soda shop called Swig was founded in 2010 by Nicole Tanner, a Mormon mother of five who started it to fill a gap in the community, opening the first location in St. George, Utah across from Dixie State University. The brand now operates roughly 140 locations across 16 states.
For years it stayed regional, then social media caught wind of it. In early 2022, dirty sodas trended on TikTok when Olivia Rodrigo posted a photo with a Swig cup, and according to Yelp, searches for “dirty sodas” surged 609% while “Swig” jumped 222%.
Social media videos and the reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” helped the trend spread far and wide, outpacing even Swig’s speedy expansion. Now you can find dirty sodas nearly everywhere, from grocery store aisles to fast food chains. PepsiCo is developing ready-to-drink dirty soda-inspired beverages, and McDonald’s is testing flavored soda programs built around the same concept.
When the biggest players in the food and beverage industry start paying attention, the trend is not a trend anymore, it becomes a category.
How to Order a Dirty Soda Vegan
The good news is that most of a dirty soda is already vegan friendly. The soda base and flavored syrups are almost always vegan. Fruit purees are vegan and the only thing you need to worry about is the cream component and that’s where it can get tricky as traditional dirty soda recipes call for half-and-half or a standard dairy creamer.
At Swig, and this is important, do not order anything made with their Coconut Creamer or Vanilla Creamer according to this guide at Go Dairy Free. Despite what their own allergen chart says, both creamers are Coffee Mate brand and contain micellar casein, a milk protein. Swig lists them as not containing dairy and this is exactly the kind of label confusion that trips people up, and I’ll get into why in the next section.
The good news is there is plenty to order at Swig without touching the creamer at all. Fruit-based sodas, sparkling water refreshers, and create-your-own builds using fruit syrups, purees, and fresh citrus are all solid options. Drinks like the Big Al, the Bloody Wild, the Riptide, and most of the Refreshers lineup are vegan as built. Stick to fruit and syrup, skip anything with creamer or creme in the description, and you are fine.
At FiiZ the heavy customization model works in your favor. Ask specifically which creamers are plant-based and build from there. When in doubt at any dirty soda shop, ask to see the ingredient list on whatever creamer they use before you order.
What to skip or confirm first: coconut cream, sweet cream foam, standard creamers, and any whipped topping unless the shop can confirm it is plant-based.
Non-Dairy vs. Dairy-Free, What’s the Difference?
This section matters when you’re shopping for dirty soda products at the grocery store or any dairy free products or ordering a drink at a shop, and it is something most people are confused about. The following terms are not the same thing or interchangeable and the law does not treat them the same way.
Swig’s allergen chart calling their Coffee Mate creamers dairy-free when they contain casein is a direct result of one of the most persistent label confusions in the food industry. Here is what you need to know.
Non-Dairy
The FDA has stated that it does not consider the terms “non-dairy” and “dairy-free” to be equivalent. The term “non-dairy” refers to products such as non-dairy creamers that may still contain a caseinate milk derivative.
Non-dairy definitely does not mean milk or dairy free. FDA regulations specifically allow the use of caseinates in non-dairy products, and casein is a major milk allergen. The term “caseinate” must appear in the ingredient statement followed by a parenthetical note such as “a milk derivative,” but the front label can still say non-dairy so always read for ingredients and allergens as that would be disclosed.
Coffee Mate Original liquid creamer is a perfect real-world example. The front label calls it non-dairy. The ingredient list includes micellar casein, a milk protein. Both things are true at the same time and it is not free of dairy nor vegan.
Dairy-Free
Unlike the deceptive term “Non-Dairy”, “Dairy-Free” products cannot intentionally include caseinate, whey, lactose, or milk fat.
In practice, most products labeled dairy-free genuinely contain no milk ingredients. But dairy-free does not automatically mean vegan. A product can be dairy-free and still contain honey, gelatin, or other animal-derived ingredients which do not trigger allergen warnings.
The “May Contain” Disclaimer:
You will frequently see “Dairy-Free” or other products carry a warning like “Made on shared equipment with milk” or “May contain milk” at the end of the ingredients list. These statements are voluntary warnings provided for individuals with severe, life-threatening allergies and are not ingredients. I don’t avoid these personally and even certified vegan products are allowed it as long as they’ve taken care to clean production lines.
Obviously, vegan means no animal products at all, including meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. None of these terms are federally regulated though and some ingredients have unfamiliar names, so they should only be used as your starting point.
The bottom line is when you see “non-dairy” on a creamer, flip it over and look for casein or caseinate in the ingredient list or the “contains milk” allergen warning. When you see “dairy-free” that is a better sign but still worth checking so try and read the label every time.
Read more about sneaky ingredients that may not be vegan in my popular blog post here.
What’s Available in Stores
Returning to shelves this year after being launched in 2025 are Coffee Mate Dirty Soda liquid creamers in two flavors now in the refrigerated section at stores. They are both vegan friendly surprisingly and contain no milk products. Orange Creme Pop is made to mix with Orange Crush and Coconut Lime is made to mix with Dr Pepper. I recently learned that not all orange soda is considered vegan. Orange Crush is considered vegan, with no animal products in their formulation and that is good news given it is the soda Coffee Mate is pairing their Orange Creme Pop creamer with, and so is Fanta Orange in the US, but Sunkist Orange Soda contains ester gum, which is derived from animal-based glycerol in most cases and is generally considered not vegan.
ICEE Dirty Soda Swirled Ice Pops
The dirty soda trend has now hit the frozen aisle. ICEE is launching new Dirty Soda Swirled Ice and Coconut Cream Pops in two flavor combinations that are supposed to mirror the drink experience.
Orange Cream Soda and Coconut Lime Cola should both be showing up at Walmart soon, with each box carrying Dairy Free and No Artificial Dyes badges.
ICEE states on their website that their products are vegan, but that claim most likely refers to their fountain drinks, not necessarily to packaged frozen novelties which can have completely different ingredients. I have not been able to confirm the full ingredient panel on these specific pops yet as they haven’t hit shelves but will update as soon as I find them.
The Dairy Free badge on the box though is a good sign as I discussed earlier. It lists coconut cream on the box description and is listed as U Pareve which means it has been certified kosher and contains no meat and no dairy ingredients which are other good indicators.
Make a Vegan Dirty Soda at Home
You do not need a drive-through or a specialty shop. A solid dirty soda at home takes about two minutes.
Start with your soda of choice like Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Mountain Dew or any zero sugar version of these. Pour over nugget ice if you have it.
Add one to two pumps of coconut syrup. Torani and Jordan’s Skinny Syrups are widely available at most major grocery stores and most flavors are vegan. Then, add a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
For the cream component, reach for full-fat canned coconut cream or a plant-based creamer you trust. Pouring coconut cream slowly over the back of a spoon gives you that beautiful swirl effect. Oat milk creamer works great for a lighter version.
From there, the combinations are yours. Mango puree, raspberry syrup, peach, pineapple, fresh citrus, or even popping boba. The whole point of a dirty soda is that it is completely customizable, and that philosophy works perfectly for how vegans usually eat.
What Does This All Mean For Vegans?
Dirty sodas are not a fad. They have real cultural roots, a growing retail footprint, and a customer base that keeps expanding beyond their Utah origins. For plant-based shoppers, this trend is one of the most naturally accommodating drink movements to come along in years. The core ingredients were already vegan, the shops usually have coconut cream and the grocery store is now stocking products built around the concept and it’s quickly becoming a category.
So, know your labels, ask the right questions at the counter, and enjoy the fact that for once, a mainstream beverage trend is already (mostly) working in our favor!
