Keurig Dr Pepper dropped its 2027 innovation slate at the 2026 NACS Show in Las Vegas, previewing more than 25 new energy items alongside a string of CSD launches and brand renovations designed to move units at the forecourt and inside the cooler.

CSD Shelf Gets New Flavor Platforms

Dr Pepper Ice Cream Float leads the carbonated soft drink additions — a permanent nationwide launch blending the brand's signature 23-flavor profile with vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch notes meant to evoke a classic float. Cans and 20 oz. bottles hit in February 2027; fountain and frozen dispensed formats follow mid-year, giving operators a grab-and-go and fountain play from a single SKU launch. Two 7UP limited-time offerings round out the CSD calendar: 7UP Miami Vice, a lime-lemon, strawberry daiquiri, and piña colada blend arriving in June 2027, and 7UP Shirley Temple, a returning holiday LTO now getting its first 20 oz. immediate-consumption package. Canada Dry Raspberry Lemonade adds a spring seasonal option beginning in Spring 2027.

KDP's own research shows younger shoppers are simultaneously chasing new flavors and gravitating toward nostalgia — a tension the company is leaning into across the lineup. Circana data cited by KDP shows the company has delivered the number-one CSD innovation in each of the past three years in total U.S. multi-outlet and convenience channels, a record the company is explicitly trying to extend.

Energy: GHOST Hits $1 Billion, More SKUs Coming

Energy is where the volume play is sharpest. KDP will push more than 25 new energy items in 2027, spanning permanent SKUs, LTOs, brand collaborations, and new formats. The anchor is GHOST Energy, which KDP now describes as a $1 billion brand at retail. Two 2026 limited-time releases — GHOST Energy x 7UP and GHOST Energy x A&W — graduate to permanent status in 2027, adding predictable cooler-door velocity for operators who ran them as LTOs. GHOST also adds Sour Strips Appleberry (green apple and strawberry) in January and a limited-run Blueberry Cream flavor the brand positions as consumer-requested.

Bloom Energy enters 2027 with three nostalgia-flavored SKUs: Strawberry Shortie launches in October 2026, with Cotton Candy and Lemon Freezie following in January 2027. C4 Energy expands its Cereal's Most Wanted zero-sugar line with Cocoa Loco in 16 oz. cans and new 8.4 oz. mini-can formats for three existing flavors — a smaller package that fits grab-and-go cooler sets and appeals to trial-minded shoppers. Circana data puts innovation and LTOs behind nearly three-quarters of energy category dollar growth, making the high SKU count a deliberate strategy rather than portfolio sprawl.

Brand Renovations Target the Physical and Digital Shelf

7UP's overhaul is the most significant brand evolution in the lineup: a consumer-preferred lime-forward formula, redesigned packaging, modernized logo, and updated visual identity across select varieties — the brand's biggest refresh in more than 15 years. Sunkist follows in Q1 2027 with updated packaging graphics and a reformulated recipe emphasizing a more fruit-forward orange taste.

Jeff Tabor, Chief Customer Officer at Keurig Dr Pepper, framed the pipeline in retailer terms: "Innovation is what keeps shoppers engaged. Our 2027 pipeline brings together breakthrough energy varieties, culturally relevant flavors and meaningful investments in some of the industry's most iconic brands — designed to create excitement, spark discovery and help retailers capture incremental sales across the beverage category."

Beyond what was formally announced, NACS Show attendees received floor previews of upcoming innovations from Snapple, Electrolit, Polar, La Colombe, Vita Coco, and additional partner brands — a signal that KDP's 2027 c-store pitch extends well past the headline SKUs. For operators managing dispensed beverage and fountain programs alongside a crowded cooler door, the depth of the pipeline offers both opportunity and the familiar challenge of allocating finite shelf and counter space. Category managers tracking energy drink trends in the convenience channel will want to sequence the GHOST permanent conversions and C4 mini-can additions early in the 2027 reset cycle.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.