Sonic Sold 78 Million Pounds of Pebble Ice in a Year. Drinks Are Why

Sonic Drive-In sold almost 78 million pounds of pebble ice over the past 12 months — and that count only covers the 10-pound retail bags, not the ice going into every drink, or the cups sold for around 59 cents. That figure is the clearest measure of what beverages mean to the 73-year-old drive-in chain: a high-margin, endlessly customizable engine that keeps a legacy brand ahead of drink trends.

"Beverages have always been a core part of the Sonic experience," said Ashlee Gustin, Sonic's director of category management. "We've built a really strong history over many, many decades now, while also giving guests the freedom to create something completely their own."

How big is the menu, really?

Count the fountain sodas, coffee, tea, lemonades, limeades, slushes and the new Refreshers, then layer on syrups, fruit purées, sweet cream, boba and even Nerds candy. The combinations run effectively to the billions. A guest can order a Coke with banana pudding flavor, coconut syrup, jalapeño peppers and pickles. Yes, pickles.

Sonic also curates the chaos with named builds. The Twisted Flamingo mixes Sprite, cherry vanilla and sweet cream. The Shark Bite combines Sprite, blue coconut, vanilla and strawberry pieces. The Cherry Limeade has a cult following in its own right, and the pebble ice has built a fan base loyal enough to buy it by the bag.

"We do sell a lot of standard soft drinks, but we also get a lot of customization options," Gustin said.

What does that cost the operator?

Customization isn't free on the back of house. Sonic runs monthly corporate training sessions on beverage builds, plus individual in-restaurant training as needed. Every innovation gets vetted with operations and training teams before it reaches the stalls.

"We work very closely with our ops and training partners on anything that we innovate on to make sure it makes sense operationally [in the] back of house," Gustin said. "So we can make sure we can get them out and have the best product delivered to our guests."

That discipline matters because the pipeline never stops. Sonic introduced dirty sodas in March 2024, ahead of most national competitors. It offers popping boba on a rotating basis. In March of this year it launched green-tea-based Refreshers in both still and sparkling versions, then added a frozen option in May — a fast follow that turns a single platform into three daypart-flexible formats.

"We always lead with our guests," Gustin said. "We really home in on what makes sense for them and how we can take current trends and make them feel uniquely and intentionally Sonic."

Limited-time drinks tied to cultural moments

Sonic also builds beverages around national events, a low-cost LTO play that generates buzz without permanent menu complexity. For the 2024 solar eclipse it introduced the Blackout Slush Float: a black slush base with cotton candy and dragon fruit flavors, topped with soft serve and sugar sprinkles — and sold with eclipse-viewing glasses.

This past summer, for the United States' 250th anniversary, the chain brought back the Red, White & Blue Slush Float, layering blue raspberry slush with vanilla soft serve and strawberries.

"We like to find some of those key moments in culture," Gustin said, "and craft some really fun beverages that tie along to it."

Why it matters

The context is sobering: Technomic's Top 500 ranked chain restaurants logged another tough sales year in 2025 as consumers pulled back on dining. Yet coffee, beverages, snacks and chicken kept growing. Sonic's playbook — a deep customization matrix, continuous platform rollouts and event-driven LTOs — shows one way a legacy chain rides that split. Expect the drink menu, and the ice that fills it, to keep doing disproportionate work.