Sonic's Candy Slushes sweeten sales

This is a concept that Sonic didn't have to chew on for long: mixing bits of candy into its iconic Slushes.

With the red-hot summer season within sipping distance, the feisty chain, as well-known for its quirky beverages as its fast-food offerings, is about to expand its Candy Slush into a full-fledged beverage platform.

Call it the summer of sweets.

Just one year after its wild success mixing Nerds into Slushes, Sonic plans to roll-out a vastly expanded Candy Slush line-up that includes drinks mixed with generic popping candy (think Pop Rocks) as well as crushed-up Jolly Ranchers. The move is a direct attempt to appeal to Millennials who broadly enjoy mixing and matching their own unlikely foods, drinks and flavor combos. Never mind that this one isn't necessarily in sync with increasing Millennial concerns about better-for-you foods.

"People ask us: 'Why didn't Sonic think of this sooner?' " says Todd Smith, chief marketing officer at Sonic.

The candy-filled beverages are an outgrowth from last summer's move to create a Candy Slush line that mixed Nerds into the 28 different Slush flavors sold by Sonic. Consumer response was huge, with Sonic's overall Slush sales nearly doubling last summer, says Smith. Even after summer ended, Sonic executives were amazed that sales levels for the candy Slushes sustained at about 50% of summer levels, says Smith.

Adding "candy" bits to a beverage order typically adds about 30 cents to the bill, Smith says.

And not to worry, say Smith — the candy is not big enough to pose any chocking hazards. "It just adds texture to the product," he says. And texture — "mouth feel" as the industry sometimes likes to call it — is huge with Millennials.

But along with that "texture" comes added sugar and added calories. For example, a large Grape Slush with Nerds, weighs in at 740 calories and has 189 grams of sugar.

Sonic has tapped NBA All-Star Kevin Durant to promote its new Candy Slushes. It's even created two Kevin Durant signature Slushes for the roll out. The All-Star is made with blue raspberry, Nerds and rainbow candy. And The Game Changer is made with lemon, strawberries and Nerds.

"It's unconscionable for Sonic to leverage Kevin Durant's star power among wannabe-Durants to push beverages loaded with nothing other than loads of added sugars and calories," says Hope Warshaw, a dietitian and author of Eat Out Eat Well: The Guide to Eating Healthy in any Restaurant.

But Smith insists that Sonic is simply offering choices to consumers. "We provide more choices across an array of beverages than any other competitor," he says. What's more, he adds, Sonic also offers more "light" beverages than any competitor.

The idea for the Candy Slush line came from Sonic's product innovation team. "We've seen candy mixed into ice cream for years, so someone asked: Why can't we do it with Slush?' " says Smith.

Perhaps the most unusual candy addition is the popping candy. "We did some magic to the candy so that it is time released," Smith says. That "magic" is a special coating that keeps the candy from exploding until someone drinks it.