Starbucks (SBUX) Fans can remember the pink-and-blue Unicorn Drink of 2017 and the variety Tie-Dye Frappuccino of 2019. While these Starbucks drinks are packed with sugar, they often become popular because of their social media looks.
One drink that has withstood its viral moment is the pink one. The combination of strawberry acai, coconut milk, and freeze-dried strawberries has remained a popular trend since the coffee giant moved it to its permanent menu in 2017.
Before that, it was a “secret menu” item popularized by some of Starbucks’ biggest fans. Entire groups calling themselves “Pink Drink Squad” post pictures of the drink on Instagram and lead anyone else who has seen it ask “What is this?”
A very long viral moment of Pink Drink
At the beginning of the week, food website The Takeout reported that the next step in the Pink Drink evolution is the grocery store shelf.
A Starbucks representative told the news outlet that the popular drink is coming “soon to grocery stores across the country” as a “ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage.”
Hidden advertising is very little in the details – it has not yet been revealed what the bottled version of the drink will look like, when it will be available, how much it will cost and what grocery stores will carry it.
But the demand certainly exists because many social media users regularly track every update about Pink Drink – an early example of how drinks are designed for social media can directly help the company.
โStarbucks needs to start selling the pink brew in bottles at the grocery store as they do frapuccinos,โ on Twitter. (TWTR) User under the name homicidalhailey Wrote back in 2018.
While ready-to-drink coffee drinks have exploded on the market in the past couple of years, the first bottled Starbucks drink dates back to 1996.
One year after the chain created the Frappuccino by blending iced coffee and mocha together, bottled versions of the chilled brew were already sold in grocery stores.
“Pepsi (PEP) Increase production as quickly as possible, but until then we could only supply West Coast supermarkets for the summer of 1996,โ Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wrote in his book Pour Your Heart Into It. We couldn’t make it fast enough. “
Just as with its in-store offerings, Starbucks has experimented with many flavors and other ready-to-drink options over the years. Many versions of the canned soft drink were brought into stores only to be discontinued while last year Starbucks launched packaged drinks such as Starbucks Baya Energy and some Nitro cold drinks.
Ready to drink wherever
Whether they are alcoholics or not, a ready-to-drink beverage can be one of the key moments lately.
Ready-to-drink beverages, which include everything from energy drinks and yogurt to iced tea and packaged coffee, are currently a $23 billion market and are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 7% in the next decade.
Meanwhile, canned alcoholic cocktails are set to grow into an $8 billion industry in the next three years. Names like Coca-Cola (KO) And Pepsi are dripping on top of each other to make new drinks over canned cocktails.
Last year, the latter launched Topo Chico, Hard Fresca, and alcoholic seltzers in partnership with its Simply juice brand.
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