Natural soft drink brand Hip Pop and TransPennine Express have teamed up to celebrate the festival season and those travelling by train. Hip Pop will be going on board a TransPennine Express service that’s travelling on the West Coast route towards the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to give away free soda!
Festival season has officially arrived, and people are heading from across the country to see their favourite acts perform and let loose with their friends. While some seasoned travellers are hitting the motorways, others are opting for public transport as a greener alternative and reducing their travel emissions.
All aboard the Hip Pop Express
The Hip Pop team will be on 10:04 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh 13:32 on the 1st of August, to celebrate the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Think exciting flavours, good vibes, and a taste of something different, something real! They’re bringing the festival vibes on board. Passengers will be able to enjoy Hip Pop’s refreshing soda for free, and 10 lucky winners have the chance to win a case of Hip Pop soda each, plus a £20 voucher that can be used at over 100 retailers.
Hip Pop and TransPennine Express are also celebrating their recent partnership, which saw Hip Pop’s Pink Grapefruit Soda added to the refreshment menu on TransPennine Express train routes. Low in calories, free from sweeteners, and featuring a quarter of your daily recommended fibre and live cultures, making it great for the gut, Hip Pop is a healthier alternative to traditional soft drinks — perfect for staying cool on your journey.
Andrew McClements, customer experience & transformation director at TransPennine Express, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer Hip Pop’s Pink Grapefruit Soda on our menu this summer.
“We’re incredibly proud to be bringing high-quality food and drink onboard for our customers to enjoy.
“I hope the lucky winners enjoy both their train journey with us and their refreshing prize.”
On most routes, trains are the greener choice, cutting carbon on 85% of trips
With festival season well underway, you may be planning your journey. As greener options become increasingly encouraged, you may be considering using public transport. While for some, car travel may be more convenient, it has one of the biggest impacts on the environment.
According to Rail Delivery Group, carbon emissions are lower by train on 85% of more than 40,000 direct station-to-station journeys, and on 93.76% of passenger journeys on those routes when compared to travelling by petrol or diesel cars. (based on the national average of 1.6 passengers per car)1.
In 2023, cars and taxis accounted for 60.2 million tonnes of CO2e emissions, compared with just 1.6 million tonnes CO2e emissions for rail, according to UK Government data2.
How to win?
To kick off this summer, Hip Pop and TransPennine Express are offering 10 lucky people the chance to win a few prizes.
10 lucky winners have the chance to win a case of Hip Pop soda each, plus a £20 voucher that can be used at over 100 retailers.
Everyone catching a TransPennine Express train that stocks Hip Pop’s Pink Grapefruit soda can win a case, simply by snapping a photo of the Pink Grapefruit Soda and sharing it on Instagram, tagging both Hip Pop (@drink.hip.pop) and TransPennine Express (@tpexpresstrains). Winners will be contacted via the official Hip Pop Instagram page. Passengers have until Saturday 5th August 2025 to enter!
Emma Thackray, founder of Hip Pop, said: “We’re excited to celebrate people heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and other festival goers this summer:
“Festival season is always such an exciting time, it means summer has officially arrived! This is a really fun way to kick off both the season and our new partnership with TransPennine Express. This is our first-ever train line listing, and we love that we can now be a part of people’s train journeys, helping people kick back, relax and enjoy themselves by cracking open a refreshingly fruity can of pop.
“We’re super excited to join everyone on their way up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and we can’t wait to give people the chance to try Hip Pop and hopefully make it a staple of their summer.”
