IRVING, Texas — In an exclusive deal, 7-Eleven and Stripes convenience stores are the first to bring Jarritos Craft Soda to the fountain. This also 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.
Last summer, 7-Eleven had another Jarritos first: a Mandarin-flavored Slurpee drink, which marked the first time the soda was offered as a frozen beverage. Its popularity and social media chatter prompted the retailer to bring it back, this time as a Big Gulp drink.
"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’s 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."
Created in 1950, Jarritos are fruit-flavored craft sodas made with natural flavors and 100% real sugar. Sold in glass bottles in the United States, the brand comes in 12 flavors: mandarin, tamarind, pineapple, fruit-punch, lime, grapefruit, strawberry, mango, guava, hibiscus, passion fruit and watermelon. Jarritos is now distributed in 37 countries.
"Jarritos is not only the top-selling soft drink from Mexico, it's also 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."
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 in CSP’s 2019 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by number of retail locations.
Based in Irving, Texas, 7‑Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 69,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,800 in North America. Its iconic products include Slurpee frozen beverages; Big Gulp fountain drinks and Big Bite foods; and 7-Select snacks and candy and 24/7 Life merchandise. Stripes became part of 7-Eleven in early 2018 after it acquired Houston-based Sunoco LP, which acquired Stripes from Susser Holdings Corp., Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2015.
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