You'll Never Find Sprite At In-N-Out, But Why Remains Mysterious

You can order a Double-Double "animal style," fries well-done, and even the protein-forward Flying Dutchman if you know to ask. But there's one thing you won't get at In-N-Out Burger: Sprite. The internet abounds with rumors and reasons as to why Sprite's not on the menu, but the beloved California brand has never publicly revealed the reasoning. To make things more confusing, unlike most national chains that sign exclusive beverage contracts with either Coca-Cola or PepsiCo, In-N-Out does something rarer: it carries products from both companies. It's why you'll see Coca-Cola on the fountain right next to 7Up, which is distributed by PepsiCo in the United States.

Sprite, on the other hand, is a Coca-Cola product, and 7Up is technically its rival. So how did In-N-Out choose its lemon-lime soda favorite? Fans seem to think it all revolves around a warehouse fire. One fan account, @innoutburger, wrote on X that, "Decades ago, a fire destroyed an In-N-Out warehouse. 7Up allowed In-N-Out to use its warehouse and facilities when In-N-Out was a small, growing company. In-N-Out continues to show gratitude to 7Up by serving its product instead of Sprite."

On the In-N-Out Reddit forum, a post claiming to be an employee wrote that it went beyond that. "Not just their warehouse, they also let us use the cold rooms, at the time we were a medium company, so if the meat and produce went bad, we would've went out of business," they wrote. "[A]s a thanks we promised 7Up that we will serve 7Up in every single store, no matter where we open it as long as we stay in business."

Other fans have their own ideas as to the Sprite mystery. Over in the "In-N-Out Burger Enthusiasts" Facebook group, one suggested this theory: "In the 40's 7Up was one of the most popular soft drinks in CA and In-N-Out shaped a loyal partnership for a reliable beverage supplier. Over many years, the companies have continued their nostalgic brand collaboration."

That poster isn't entirely wrong. In-N-Out was founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park, a neighborhood just outside of L.A. The first version of 7Up appeared in St. Louis in 1929, just before the stock market crash that kicked off the Great Depression in the U.S. A decade or so later, the lemon-lime soda was one of the best-selling soft drinks in the world. It's possible the partnership happened organically, and the fast food giant is simply happy to keep it that way. Either way, the soda options are certainly not the reason why it's Gordon Ramsay's favorite fast food burger.

The legend of the warehouse fire gets repeated a lot, but there's no solid evidence that it's true. It certainly fits the brand's image as a family-owned, quietly principled company. The problem is there's no documented confirmation from In-N-Out corporate history or news coverage of such an arrangement. One would think that such an incredible story of corporate generosity would be terrific public relations fodder. But for now, all we have are whispers from die-hard fans and anonymous employees — and a 7Up to go with our Double-Double.