7-Eleven Adds Craft Soda From Mexico to Fountain Offerings

IRVING, Texas — 7-Eleven Inc. is expanding its Big Gulp offering with Jarritos Craft Soda from Mexico.

A mainstay at taquerias, Jarritos fruit-flavored craft sodas are made with natural flavors and 100 percent real sugar. Until now, they have only been available for sale in bottles. This marks the first time the soft drink from Mexico is being sold outside the bottle. 

Mandarin, one of Jarritos' most popular flavors, will be available on Big Gulp fountain machines at participating stores.

"We are always looking for new and interesting flavors for both Slurpee and fountain drinks by monitoring flavor trend experts as well as social media buzz," said Jacob Barnes, 7-Eleven senior product director for proprietary beverages. "When Jarritos Mandarin was such a hit on the Slurpee machine, we immediately began working to bring it back as a Big Gulp fountain drink."

7-Eleven introduced another Jarritos first last summer with a Mandarin-flavored Slurpee drink, marking the first time the tangy and sweet soda was offered as a frozen beverage. Its overwhelming popularity and social media chatter prompted the convenience retailer to bring it back, this time as a Big Gulp offering.

"Jarritos is not only the top-selling soft drink from Mexico, it's also a great-tasting and has broad appeal among all ages and demographics," Barnes said. "Once customers hear we have a Jarritos Big Gulp drink, I think they will visit our stores specifically to find it."

Known for its great tasting and colorful fruit-flavored sodas, the Jarritos soft drink company was founded in Mexico in 1950. By 1960, Jarritos had become the most popular national soft drink in Mexico.

Based in Irving, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 69,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. 7-Eleven ranked No. 1 in the 2019 Convenience Store News Top 100 report.