Icee made one surprising move that could have slush fans racing to stores

Icee has been the frozen treat of choice at movie theaters for generations.

But the iconic brand just announced a major change to how Americans will enjoy it.

And Icee made one surprising move that could have slush fans racing to stores.

Icee teams up with No Cap for canned soda launch

The Icee Company is leaving the movie theater and hitting grocery store shelves for the first time with a major partnership that transforms its famous frozen flavors into canned soda.¹

Icee teamed up with California-based No Cap Soda Pop to launch a limited-time line of canned drinks hitting stores nationwide in January 2026.²

The collaboration reimagines Icee's most recognizable flavors — including the iconic cherry and blue raspberry — into a better-for-you soda format.

Each 16-ounce can delivers zero sugar, zero caffeine, zero calories, and added electrolytes.³

No Cap co-founder Vincent Wilson called the partnership a "dream collab" that proves "fun, nostalgia, and better-for-you can actually live together in one can."⁴

The companies are also launching 7.5-ounce mini variety packs with both core flavors and rotating limited-time-only seasonal collaborations.⁵

Icee built its reputation over 67 years as America's original frozen carbonated beverage after Kansas Dairy Queen owner Omar Knedlik accidentally invented it in 1958 when his soda machine broke.⁶

The company now operates more than 75,000 machines across the country serving over 300 million Icees per year.⁷

But frozen slushes don't exactly fit in your pantry at home.

This partnership gives Icee an entirely new distribution channel while tapping into the exploding better-for-you soda market.

https://twitter.com/cpgwire/status/1983241566857662898

Icee enters crowded “health soda” battlefield

The healthy soda category has become a $10 billion market dominated by prebiotic brands like Olipop and Poppi.⁸

Olipop reached a $1.85 billion valuation earlier this year while Poppi was recently acquired by PepsiCo for $1.95 billion.⁹

Those brands built their success on prebiotics and gut health claims that triggered lawsuits over overstated benefits.¹⁰

Coca-Cola jumped into the space in February 2025 with Simply Pop, its own prebiotic soda containing six grams of fiber.¹¹

But Icee and No Cap are taking a different approach.

Instead of loading up on prebiotics that nutritionists say provide minimal actual health benefits, they're focusing on eliminating the bad stuff — sugar, caffeine, and calories — while keeping the flavors people actually want.¹²

"We are not trying to rewrite the rules, we are just bringing what has worked across the energy drink categories as well as others, to the modern soda category," Wilson explained.¹³

The strategy targets what Wilson calls "a new kind of soda customer that craves flavor and fun without compromise."¹⁴

That's a direct shot at the prebiotic soda giants who've faced criticism for their minimal fiber content and questionable gut health claims.

Poppi contains just two to three grams of fiber per can and settled a class-action lawsuit for $8.9 million over overstated health benefits.¹⁵

Even Olipop's nine grams of fiber comes from extracted sources like chicory root that don't provide the same nutritional benefits as whole foods.¹⁶

New York University nutrition professor Lisa Young told Fortune that prebiotic sodas are "highly unlikely" to do much for gut health despite their marketing claims.¹⁷

Nostalgia meets modern wellness trend

Elisha Joffe, partner at Design Plus which brokered the deal through a three-year licensing agreement, said the collaboration "captures what's driving today's beverage innovation."¹⁸

"ICEE has been part of American pop culture for generations, and NO CAP! is redefining what modern soda can look like," Joffe stated. "Together, they're proving that nostalgia and wellness don't have to be opposites."¹⁹

The movie theater connection gives Icee built-in brand recognition that most startups spend years trying to build.

Getting an Icee with your popcorn became a ritual for generations of Americans who grew up going to the movies.

The drinks are available at major theater chains including AMC and Cinemark, typically featuring flavors like cherry, blue raspberry, and Coca-Cola.²⁰

That nostalgia factor is exactly what No Cap wants to tap into while attracting younger, health-conscious consumers with the zero-sugar formula.

Wilson said Icee is "a staple of a brand throughout my generation" that inspired No Cap to bring those flavors "to the next generation in a better-for-you soda form."²¹

The partnership follows a broader trend of established beverage brands trying to modernize without losing what made them popular in the first place.

No Cap is banking that consumers want the classic flavors they remember from childhood without the sugar crash that comes with traditional soda.

The functional beverage space is projected to generate $2 billion in sales by 2029 as consumers increasingly seek healthier alternatives to regular soft drinks.²²

But the real test will be whether Icee fans who've spent decades slurping frozen treats through a straw will embrace the same flavors in a can.

The ICEE x No Cap products will be available at grocery stores, convenience stores, and specialty retailers nationwide starting January 2026.²³

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¹ "NO CAP! Soda Pop and ICEE Join Forces to Bring Iconic Frozen Flavors to the Modern Soda Aisle," PRNewswire, October 28, 2025.

² Ibid.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ "The Icee Company," Wikipedia, February 10, 2025.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ "Are Gut Health Sodas Really Healthy? The Truth on Poppi & Olipop," CEO Today Magazine, June 25, 2025.

⁹ "Pepsi purchases Poppi after a wild month of healthy soda competition," Retail Brew, March 20, 2025.

¹⁰ "Soda that's healthy? What experts say about Poppi, Olipop prebiotic drinks," Axios, May 6, 2025.

¹¹ "Coca-Cola's prebiotic drink joins gut health stars Olipop & Poppi," Beverage Daily, February 19, 2025.

¹² "Nostalgia meets better-for-you soda," Food Navigator USA, October 30, 2025.

¹³ Ibid.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ "Are prebiotic sodas like Olipop and Poppi healthy?" Fortune Well, February 15, 2025.

¹⁶ Ibid.

¹⁷ Ibid.

¹⁸ "NO CAP! Soda Pop and ICEE Join Forces to Bring Iconic Frozen Flavors to the Modern Soda Aisle," PRNewswire, October 28, 2025.

¹⁹ Ibid.

²⁰ "AMC CLASSIC Concessions," AMC Theatres.

²¹ "Nostalgia meets better-for-you soda," Food Navigator USA, October 30, 2025.

²² "Poppi and Olipop are the trendy new sodas. Coca-Cola is responding," CNN Business, February 18, 2025.

²³ "NO CAP! Soda Pop and ICEE Join Forces to Bring Iconic Frozen Flavors to the Modern Soda Aisle," PRNewswire, October 28, 2025.