Skittles Are Going After Coca-Cola And Pepsi

Skittles is owned by Mars, one of the most well-known candy manufacturers, making its attempt to break into the soda market more likely to succeed than when other smaller companies have attempted to do so. The manufacturer owns some of the most popular candy brands like M&Ms, 3 Musketeers, Milkyaway Bars, Snickers, and Twix. If the Skittles soda finds success, it could lead to a diverse range of beverages from the company. 

This is hardly the first time Mars has stretched its known candy brands into new products. Mars has found success in the past with M&M cookies and various ice cream bars based on their popular candy bars. It’s likely the success of these other ventures that inspired Mars to attempt to convert the popularity of Skittles into a soda brand. 

There’s much we don’t know about the new drink, but we do have some early details. We know that the Skittles soda won’t be carbonated and that it will come in four different flavors. The flavors, each based on different versions of the candy, are: Original, Wild Berry, Sour Skittle, and Tropical. 

Aside from those details, little is known about the upcoming Skittles soda. The lack of carbonation in particular raises questions of how Mars plans to advertise the new product. Anything from a flavored water brand to a sports drink is a possibility. 

While this will be the first time Mars has turned Skittles into a soda, it’s technically not the first Skittles beverage product. Mars already makes powdered Skittles water flavoring similar to Kool-Aid packets. This adds some weight to the idea that the new beverage will actually be a flavored water product, but as of now, there’s no compelling evidence to suggest that the two products are linked in any way beyond being Skittles beverages. 

No matter what form the Skittles soda takes, it will almost certainly have to compete with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi products as they own brands across the beverage industry. If the new drink is a sports drink, it will compete with the Pepsi-owned brand Gatorade and the Coca-Cola-owned brand Powerade. Of course, if it’s a more conventional soda, even being uncarbonated, it will have to compete with the two giants’ most signature products. 

As more information becomes available about the new drink, consumers will have a better understanding of what the drink will taste like and where it will fit into the market. Until then, all Skittles fans can do is imagine what the future of Skittles soda will be like. Fortunately, with a 2024 release year announced, people won’t have to wait long to taste the fruity candy in liquid form.