• by Danielle Oster , 11 hours ago

Move over, Arnold Palmer, there’s a new drink on the golf course.

Iced tea and lemonade is a time-tested combo ideal for sipping in hot summer weather. Now that drink, often referred to as a “half and half” or an “Arnold Palmer” (after the golfer) has some new competition.

Coca-Cola launched a limited-time summer Sprite flavor that combines the lemon and lime soda with iced tea. Sprite + Tea is now available in both regular and zero-sugar varieties in retail stores in the United States and Canada through October. Packaging for the brand extension combines the Sprite logo and signature green with gold and amber accents, adding “dynamic splash graphics and a youthful font atypical of ready-to-drink tea brands,” according to the company.

The new flavor was inspired by the trend of people steeping tea bags in Sprite.  “We’re always listening to our consumers, but this particular phenomenon motivated us to explore how we could offer our own refreshing take on tea,” Sprite North America Brand Director Kate Schaufelberger said in a statement.

The brand teamed up with fashion and lifestyle brand Eastside Golf for a “Refreshing Take on Tea” spot focused on the concept of blurring lines between categories. Coca-Cola chose to partner with Eastside for its role in “pushing the boundaries of golf by infusing hip-hop and basketball-inspired culture.” Eastside Golf co-founders Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper star in a hero ad for the launch campaign, entitled “The Fix,” alongside rapper/singer Monaleo.

“As a brand, Sprite has always championed those who are shaping culture, so it was a natural decision to partner with another brand that’s bringing a refreshing twist to tradition,” Schaufelberger added.

A second ad, also running across OOH and digital/social video, touts the new release as “not your granny’s tea.” The campaign also includes an activation allowing consumers to scan any Sprite product to access a new “Sprite Squad” digital portal with exclusive Eastside Golf content and perks.

The launch follows a research and development process that saw Coca-Cola complete multiple rounds of consumer testing to arrive at the final product.

“The Sprite + Tea concept started out as an intern research project… “When it blew up on TikTok with millions of views, it was a gut check that we were on the right track,”  A.P. Chaney, Coca Cola’s senior creative director, sparkling flavors North America, said in a statement.

Chaney compared the new innovation to Sprite Lymonade, another hybrid driven by preexisting fan behavior (mixing Sprite and lemonade).

“I love innovations, because we can take bigger swings with our marketing,” Chaney added.

Should the new flavor prove successful, it could become a permanent seasonal addition to Sprite’s flavor roster, like Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry, Schaufelberger said.