Oct 2, 2026
Would you drink Kraft Dinner if it came in a can? For some adventurous Canadian eaters, the knee jerk response could very well be, “of course we would! We’d drink more!”
KD has been a staple in Canadian households for generations. Now it comes in a can — and at $2.95, the can sticker price costs more than the traditional box of KD noodles.
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On Sept. 23, Kraft Heinz, the U.S.-based packaged food giant behind KD and Heinz ketchup (NYSE:KHC), teamed up with Toronto’s Solly’s Craft Soda to launch a limited-edition, Canada-only cream soda with a hint of KD’s cheesy flavour.
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On the one hand, it’s a bit of a gag option on the shelves — yes, pun intended — but it’s also a branded launch at a time when grocery bills remain stubbornly high.
Still interested? Here’s where to find it, why food brands keep betting on novelty and how to try a food fad without letting it chew through your budget.
What exactly is KD soda?
KD x Solly’s Craft Soda is a sweet-and-savoury carbonated drink that pairs classic cream soda with KD’s signature cheese flavour — and it’s officially the first soda sold under the KD name.
“A soda might be the last place you would expect to find KD,” Daniel Lundberg, head of marketing and strategy at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement, but it’s a “...whole new way for fans to experience their KD obsession; it’s something to crack open with friends, debate what it could possibly taste like, and then satisfy your curiosity with that first sip.”
Lundberg explains that the decision to partner with Solly’s wasn’t an accident. “They have the entrepreneurial energy, creativity and willingness to challenge conventions that made them the perfect partner for this idea.”
While Solly’s Craft Soda offers more traditional flavours, like black cherry and lime and strawberry vanilla, it’s also got unique flavour profiles, such as ‘kosher dill and lime’ as well as pineapple and yuzu.
For those worried about the possibility of drinking liquid cheese: early reviews suggest the cheese flavour is more whisper than shout. A taste test by Toronto Life found the drink leans heavily on cream soda, with only a faint cheesy note.
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Where can you buy KD soda?
The soda launched online through Amazon.ca, with Walmart and other retailers expected to stock it some time in early October.
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And demand appears to be strong. According to Solly’s the drink is selling faster than it can be canned, with new online orders shipping the week of Oct. 12.
How much does KD soda cost compared with a box of KD?
According to Solly’s online store, KD Cream Soda costs:
- $2.95 for a single can
- $21.80 for an eight-pack (about $2.73 a can)
- $64.95 for a 24-can case (about $2.71 a can)
Compare that with the cost of the meal that inspired the fizzy drink. A 200-gram box of KD Original lists for $2.39 at Voilà, Sobeys’ online grocery service, while a 12-box pack lists for $20.99. In other words, an eight-pack of KD soda costs about as much as 12 boxes of original KD. (Prices vary by retailer and don’t include taxes or shipping.)
Why are food brands betting on stunts like this?
So why are food brands launching these unique flavour profiles and collaborations? Because novelty buys attention — and big brands need it.
In its second-quarter 2026 filing, Kraft Heinz reported organic net sales fell 1.3%, as dropping sales volume erased price gains. Translation: shoppers are buying fewer of Kraft Heinz products.
To drum up interest and attention, KD has leaned on limited-edition drops — it’s a way to stay in focus in a very cluttered consumer marketplace. This summer alone, the brand showed up in cheesecake, ramen and a Booster Juice smoothie, the last of which was sold at Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) — because, of course, it belongs at the CNE food pavilion.
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For Solly’s, the deal puts a small Toronto brand on store shelves across the country. In the news release announcing the launch, founder Adin Wener called the partnership “a genuinely big deal” for an independent company like Solly’s Craft Soda.
And don’t forget the Canada-first component. The timing of this partnership may also reflect a shift in how Canadians shop. A survey by Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) found that 67% of Canadians planned to cut back on spending in 2026, up from 51% the year before. Yet Julia Kelly, vice president, small business banking at TD, noted in the survey results that support for Canadian-owned businesses is moving from trend to habit.
Can a $3 can of pop really hurt your budget?
The biggest question for shoppers is whether a $3 can of soda will break the budget. On its own, the answer is obviously: no. But it lands at a time when food costs remain high. Grocery prices rose 2.8% year over year in August, according to Statistics Canada, and they’re up 29% since August 2021.
The bigger risk isn’t trying one can of KD soda; it’s the pattern of trying out every trend, every time. Limited-edition products run on urgency: sell-out warnings, restock dates and social media buzz all nudge you to buy now and think later. At $2.95 a can, it’s a pricey pop to stick in your fridge — and just one of many as we wait for the next viral snack to come along.
For Canadian shoppers, it’s the whittling down of the budget, dollar by dollar. Those small extras add up fastest for households already watching every dollar at the checkout — making the purchase of a few novelty items that pushes a weekly grocery bill over budget.
What to do now
For those struggling with the responsibility of smart spending and the novelty of new, keep in mind: there’s nothing wrong with a little fun in your food budget. Just make it a choice, not a reflex.
- Buy a single can before committing to a case
- Check delivery costs before ordering online and compare with in-store prices once it hits shelves
- Set a small “fun food” line in your monthly grocery budget and pay for fads from that
- Split a pack with friends or coworkers to try it for less
- Ignore the “limited edition” pressure — restocks are already scheduled
- Just keep walking on by like you never saw it
A can of KD soda can be a quirky splurge or the start of a pricey habit. The difference is whether you decided to try it — or the hype decided for you. No one says you have to buy into the fad, even if your grocery budget has plenty of room.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
