Soft Drinks in Spain
Soft drinks, or “refrescos” as they are called in Spain, show up at every bar counter, family lunch and summer terrace. Some are the global brands you already know. Others, like Kas and La Casera, are Spanish names that barely made it out of the country, and a couple of Spanish drinks only make sense once you know they are meant to be mixed with wine or beer.
This guide covers the brands you will see, what the local ones actually taste like, how Spaniards drink them with tapas, and why sugary drinks cost a little more than you might expect. If you are also ordering alcohol, see our guide to the legal drinking age in Spain, which is 18 across the country.
History of Soft Drinks in Spain
Before the big brands arrived, Spain drank gaseosa, a lightly sweet sparkling water sold in local bottlings all over the country. In 1949 Félix Duffo founded La Casera in Madrid and turned gaseosa into a national brand. In the Basque Country, the Knörr family in Vitoria had been making drinks for decades, and in the 1950s they launched the orange drink that became Kas.
The global colas arrived in the same decade. The first Coca-Cola bottled in Spain came off the line in Barcelona on 31 March 1953, according to Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and PepsiCo dates Pepsi’s Spanish history to the 1950s as well. In 1992 PepsiCo bought Kas, then the largest Spanish soft drinks company.
Since then the shelves have filled with sugar-free versions, iced teas and sports drinks, partly driven by health concerns and partly by the taxes covered below.
Soft drinks market trends in Spain
Lemon and orange sodas are still the local favourites, alongside the colas. Zero-sugar versions now sit next to the originals in every supermarket, and La Casera’s gaseosa has always been sugar-free. Iced tea is a bar staple. In 2025 the Nestea brand changed hands in Spain: Nestlé signed with Damm to make and distribute it after Coca-Cola, which had handled it in Spain since 1993, switched to its own Fuze Tea. That is why some bars now serve Nestea and others Fuze Tea.
10 Soft Drinks You Will See in Spain
- Coca-Cola: as in most countries, the default cola in bars, restaurants and homes.
- Pepsi: widely sold, and made in Spain at PepsiCo’s plant in Álava.
- Kas: the Basque brand, now owned by PepsiCo, known for Kas Naranja (orange) and Kas Limón (lemon). Look out for Bitter Kas, a red bitter aperitif soda that is hard to find outside Spain.
- La Casera: the classic gaseosa, a sweet sparkling water with no sugar, made since 1949 and now owned by Suntory. It is the traditional partner for red wine in tinto de verano.
- Fanta: orange and lemon are the flavours you will see most.
- Schweppes: tonic, bitter lemon and other mixers, central to Spain’s gin-tonic culture. In Spain the brand belongs to Suntory Beverage & Food Spain, the same group as La Casera and Trina.
- Nestea and Fuze Tea: the two iced teas, with lemon and peach the usual flavours.
- Aquarius: Coca-Cola’s sports drink, which many Spaniards drink as an everyday soft drink, especially in summer.
- Trina: a still orange drink, a childhood staple for many Spaniards.
- Mosto: non-alcoholic grape juice, served chilled in bars as the grown-up alternative to a soda.
How Spaniards drink them
Soft drinks in Spain usually come with food: a cold Kas with a plate of olives on a terrace, or a Coca-Cola with the menú del día at lunch.
The two mixed drinks every visitor should know are built on soda. “Tinto de verano” is red wine topped with gaseosa or lemon soda, served over ice, and it is what many locals drink in summer instead of sangria. “Clara” is beer mixed with gaseosa or lemon soda, lighter and easy to drink in the heat. La Casera sells tinto de verano ready-mixed, including an alcohol-free version.
Why sugary drinks cost more in Spain
Two taxes push up the price of sweetened drinks.
The first is VAT. Most food in Spain carries the reduced 10% rate, but the Spanish VAT law excludes soft drinks, juices and gaseosas with added sugars or sweeteners from that reduced rate, so they pay the general 21%. The change came in with the 2021 state budget, and it covers diet sodas too, because sweeteners count.
The second applies only in Catalonia. Since 2017 the region has taxed packaged sugary drinks, and according to the Catalan Tax Agency the current rates are EUR 0.10 per litre for drinks with 5 to 8 grams of sugar per 100 ml and EUR 0.15 per litre above 8 grams. Shops, bars and cinemas must pass it on to the customer in the shelf or menu price, so you usually will not see it as a separate line on your receipt in Barcelona.
FAQ About soft drinks in Spain
Does Spain have any popular soft drink brands?
Yes. The best known are:
- Kas: fruit sodas, especially Kas Naranja and Kas Limón, plus Bitter Kas. Created by the Knörr family in Vitoria and owned by PepsiCo since 1992.
- La Casera: the gaseosa used for tinto de verano, founded in Madrid in 1949 and now part of Suntory.
- Trina: still orange and fruit drinks, also part of Suntory in Spain.
Can you buy Pepsi in Spain?
Yes. Pepsi is sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and many bars, and PepsiCo makes it in Spain at its plant in Álava, alongside Kas.
What is a popular non-alcoholic drink in Spain?
Horchata (orxata in Valencian) is the classic. It is a sweet, milky drink made from tiger nuts (chufas), water and sugar, most associated with Valencia and served very cold in summer. Mosto, chilled grape juice, is the usual bar order for non-drinkers, and La Casera sells a 0.0 alcohol-free tinto de verano.
Are soft drinks taxed in Spain?
Soft drinks with added sugar or sweeteners pay 21% VAT instead of the 10% most food pays. In Catalonia there is also a regional tax of EUR 0.10 or EUR 0.15 per litre, depending on sugar content.