Ben Stiller Launches Soda Brand Inspired by His N.Y.C. Childhood (Exclusive)

Ben Stiller’s latest project is fizzing with nostalgia.

The director, writer and producer shares exclusively with PEOPLE that he’s launching a soda brand that draws inspiration from his New York City roots.

The debut collection of Stiller’s Soda includes three classic flavors: Root Beer, Lemon Lime, and Shirley Temple, which is a personal favorite of the Meet the Parents star.

Stiller tells PEOPLE his first priority in creating the 30-calorie product with all-natural ingredients was making a drink that “tasted like soda” but where “you don’t feel like you’re putting bad stuff in your body.”

The original idea centered on the bubbly beverage he loved as a child.

“Shirley Temples, in particular, were a big thing for me growing up,” he recalls of his upbringing in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when he and his sister, Amy, would accompany their famous parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, to nightclub performances.

“They were comedians, and we would be hanging out with grown-ups a lot,” he says. “And when you’d be at a nightclub with grown-ups as a kid, you’d order Shirley Temple and you felt like you were kind of cool. And of course, because you couldn’t really drink anything else.”

Stiller, who cofounded the brand with food and beverage entrepreneur Alex Doman, says they even considered calling the soda “Ben Shirley,” before opting to expand the offerings beyond Shirley Temples.

“We thought, why don’t we do a few different flavors? And then it sort of evolved into this,” Stiller says, adding, “I don’t drink, so I love having an option for soda for something to drink for adults too when you’re out.”

The collection’s other two varieties also fit the theme of nostalgic, comforting flavors that Stiller enjoyed as a kid. While he plans to add more as the company grows, he says the trio was “a good place to start.”

The father of two, who shares Ella, 23, and Quinlin, 20, with wife Christine Taylor, says his son served as a key tester for the sodas.

“My son loves soda,” he says of Quinlin. “When he asked to have a second Lemon Lime because he liked it so much, I felt like we were on the right track.”

While he notes Ella never drank soda growing up, she’s a fan of the new product.

“Ella has tried the sodas and approves of them, too,” he says.

“The idea of having a healthy soda for kids, I think, is something that’s important to us, too,” he says of Stiller’s Soda, which packs vitamins such as B12, C and D. “Something that parents can give their kids and not feel bad about it, too.”

Stiller says of all the characters he’s played, he’d most want to share a soda with Derek Zoolander because the fashion model protagonist of 2001’s Zoolander and its 2016 sequel “probably only would have one or two sips because he is always watching his figure.”

He’d least want to share one with White Goodman from 2004’s Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, “maybe because I feel like that mustache is a little sketchy and I don’t know where that’s been,” he jokes.

Stiller, who serves as director and executive producer of Severance, also weighed in on the hit series’ most memorable food moments.

“I feel like the Irving watermelon head was probably the coup de grace for the second season,” he says, referring to the carving resembling Irving’s (John Turturro) head that Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) served to Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), and Dylan (Zach Cherry) in the show’s second season.

“The first season, the Scotch eggs. The egg bar for me was probably the most memorable in a way that I wouldn’t want to remember because I really don’t like eggs,” he adds of when Milchick presents a pre-Waffle Party Egg Bar Social. “But I think that our prop department did such an amazing job with the Scotch eggs.”

Other recent projects for Stiller include directing a documentary about his parents’ legacy, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, set for release on Oct. 5. He also says he’s been “having a great time” working with Robert De Niro and Ariana Grande on Focker In-Law, which hits theaters next year.

But for now, he’s eager to release Stiller’s Soda, which has been a long time coming.

He adds, “We’ve been working on it for about three years, and to finally get to this moment where we’re actually putting it out into the world is kind of surreal, and I’m super excited about it.”

Stiller’s is currently available in N.Y.C. and nationwide via Amazon’s U.S. store. The brand will expand into Walmart in the coming months, expanding to more retailers nationwide in 2026. 

For more information, visit stillerssoda.com and @stillerssoda on Instagram and other social media platforms.