These Starry vending machines will give you free soda when it hits 100 degrees outside

For the rest of the summer, Starry is giving away free soda if any part of the U.S. experiences 100-degree weather.

The PepsiCo-owned lemon-lime soda brand is offering a limited digital rebate through Labor Day when temps reach 100 degrees anywhere nationwide. Additionally, consumers in select cities have access to special vending machines through the end of July that the company says “will automatically dispense” free sodas if local temperatures hit or exceed the 100-degree mark.

“When the temperature hits triple digits, Starry shows up big-time,” Michael Smith, VP of flavored carbonated soft drink marketing at PepsiCo, tells Fast Company.

Like a fast-food chain that offers free french fries if the local pro baseball team hits a certain number of home runs, Starry is running a conditional giveaway through a promotion that introduces an element of chance and suspense. It also offers a treat in what could otherwise be a crummy situation. It’s hot outside. But hey, at least you can get a free soda.

Starry’s “100 Degrees 100% Off” campaign comes as 100-degree days are increasingly the norm for many parts of the country at this time of year.

Death Valley, California—the hottest place in the U.S.—is forecast to reach highs of at least 111 degrees for the next 10 days, according to the Weather Channel. Last year Phoenix set a record with a streak of 100 days when it was at least 100 degrees that stretched from May to September. What starts off as a fun, seasonal promotion is just one extended heat wave away from serving as a grim reminder of the effects of a warming climate.

If you’re a marketing department looking to limit payouts, designing a trigger campaign based on the possibility of a 100-degree day anywhere in the U.S. from now until after Labor Day isn’t a good bet. Read the fine print of the promotion, though, and you’ll see there are limits. It’s a onetime rebate for a 20-ounce bottle of Starry (at a maximum retail price of $3.99) that requires consumers to scan a QR code and the receipt from a participating retailer while supplies last, or until September 2, 2025.

And while Starry is being geographically generous with the 100-degree requirement for its giveaway digitally, physically it’s targeting key markets where summers tend to be cooler than in Death Valley: Atlanta, Charlotte, and Miami. Those cities will see out-of-home advertising and the vending machine activation. But Starry’s playing it safe, with no vending machines in places like Las Vegas, for example, or Tucson, Arizona. Pepsico tells Fast Company no additional vending machines will appear in other cities at this time.

PepsiCo launched Starry in 2023 as a replacement to its own Sierra Mist brand after its market share against Coca-Cola Co.’s Sprite had gone flat. Its mascots are an anamorphic lemon and lime who starred alongside Ice Spice in the brand’s Super Bowl ad. PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said on a company earnings call in 2024 that the brand had a strong first year and was “over-indexing with Gen Z.” Growing that share could be one key way the company adapts while facing falling snack sales.

Starry’s “100 Degrees 100% Off” promotion gives the brand a way to tap into triple-digit temperatures, but it also speaks to a larger business imperative. Summer is the beverage industry’s most important time of the year, so if PepsiCo hopes to build on Starry’s success, there’s no better time than now to promote it.