Swig’s hit LTO this spring was the Dirty Little Secret, a mix of Dr Pepper, coconut, pineapple and vanilla cream, promoted through its connection to “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The characters in the popu- lar reality show often stop by Swig. Seasonal fruits do well; pumpkin not so much. Swig tried a pumpkin dirty soda this fall and it was too polarizing; some people loved it, but others hated it, Dunn said. “It’s okay to make mistakes and admit it, then iter- ate. The speed at which you iterate matters.” At HTeaO, customers have favorites, but LTOs are an opportunity, said Nielsen. “I love collaborations, and we recently did one with
Poppi sodas and another with Perrier to bring in carbonation,” he added. The result was a summer LTO of Fizzy Refreshers in flavors including Lemon Lav and Desert Pear. Another piece of the success puzzle has to do with consistency. Both concepts guarantee a consistent, refreshing experience and prod- uct. And that has led to consistent growth. According to the most current data from Res- taurant Business sister company, Technomic, Swig earned over $87 million in sales and counts 117 locations in 16 states, and HTeaO has more than $101 million in sales and 144 units in 10 states.
brewers,” said Nielsen. Swig uses patented carbonation technolo- gy for its sodas and is “maniacal about mak- ing the drinks, all the way down to the ice, making sure it’s in the right proportion to the liquid,” said Dunn. At HTeaO and Swig, the beverage busi- ness revolves around “pick-me-ups,” where customers come in for a boost, often in the afternoon. In fact, the idea for HTeaO came about when the founder noticed many of his employees at a previous company leaving in the afternoon for a break and discovered they were going out to get an iced tea. “Customers come in for a pick-me-up, but they become regulars because of their inter- action with the people who make your drink,” said Dunn. At Swig, they’re called “Day- makers” because they’re trained to “make a guest’s day.” Speed is also key to both concepts. A morning or afternoon pick-me-up has to be quick, whether a worker is taking a break or a busy mom is running her kids around. Nicole Tanner Robison was exactly that busy mom of five when she opened the first Swig 15 years ago. As their menus and locations expanded, both concepts felt the time was right to add limited-time offers to keep interest high. “We limit LTOs to quarterly, trying to come up with flavor profiles that are unique but wide - ly appealing,” said Dunn.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HTEAO
JANUARY 2026 RESTAURANT BUSINESS
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