The fast food giant McDonald’s is back in the middle of another internet sensation, but this time it’s not about burgers or fries. The secret menu drink, referred to as the Cotton Candy Sprite, is a sweet combination of a bubbly lemon-lime beverage that has been circulating on social media. A viral TikTok trend has led customers across the U.S. to flock to McDonald’s to give this unexpected treat a taste.
The Hack Behind the Hype
Then what is Cotton Candy Sprite? Making this a simple customization: Customers order a regular Sprite and specify that it should also get three pumps of French vanilla syrup. The result is the surprisingly sweet and nostalgic flavour of cotton candy. McDonald’s doesn’t really have a secret menu, but many of the stores are only too happy to invent one for you if you’ve got the right ingredients at hand.
The catch? This hack is not available on mobile orders or delivery tables through the app. You’ll need to go to your local McDonald’s in person and ask the employee at the counter for the full experience.
A Social Media Frenzy
TikTokers spread the Cotton Candy Sprite hack, and it exploded in popularity when they started to share their reaction to the drink. Some trolled the hack with, “This is the new hack for 2025!” Some were more descriptive, offering such a word as ‘amazing’ or marveling that Sprite had been so ‘reworked’ to something unexpectedly delightful. By the time YouTube reviewers and Instagram food bloggers began to jump aboard the trend later, most agreed the drink, as tasty as it was, was more like vanilla than actual cotton candy.
The craze involves not only fast food enthusiasts but also McDonald’s employees. One self-identified worker posted a video in which he rolls the drink for the first time, looking stunned and at a loss for words. “I don’t even know, but what I will say is it actually tastes like cotton candy,” he admitted, ‘’and it’s just like, you’ve got to try it yourself, because at this point I don’t even know.”
‘One of the most bubbling, refreshing sodas I’ve ever tasted tastes .. simply like cotton manufacturing, great for satisfying your sweet tooth,’ the web-based account @mouthattack announced, calling it one of the most wondrous secret menu disclosures of late.
No Official Secret Menu, But Plenty of Options
Although McDonald’s doesn’t have an official secret menu, it has welcomed guests to customize food by making grill orders, a parlance for specific commands such as removing pickles from a Big Mac or asking for extra ingredients in a McFlurry. A company spokesperson said ‘Our customers are creative, and they tell us all the time that they love customizing our menu.’
Even McDonald’s former manager confirmed in a Reddit AMA that these kinds of customization are often allowed at the mercy of the staff. Many locations will as long as the ingredients are available and the customers are willing to pay for them.
A Taste of Whimsy at the Golden Arches
The Cotton Candy Sprite trend is, at its core, about creativity and joy, and consumers’ desire to cut loose and have a little fun in their daily lives, which is why they respond to this trend. That is a reminder that in such a massively branded chain like McDonald’s, there is still room to play around.
The reaction to the drink, which so far has struck a chord with more people as they try it and post their reactions, is apparent. This is a viral beverage that you’re either nostalgic for county fairs or can’t help but try if you’re curious about TikTok trends.
