Beverage

Starbucks to debut another outrageous Frappuccino

The limited-time Crystal Ball cream-based drink is reportedly peach flavored and topped with candy.

It appears Starbucks is unleashing yet another made-for-Instagram Frappuccino this week.

Following last year’s viral success of the Unicorn Frappuccino, the coffee chain will roll out its Crystal Ball Frappuccino on Thursday, according to a report in Business Insider citing Starbucks workers. The hyperlimited LTO will be available only through the weekend, or until supplies run out.

Coming this Thursday... 🔮 #crystalballfrappuccino

A post shared by Florence Alabama | Starbucks (@florence_alabama_starbucks) on

Starbucks officials declined to comment to Restaurant Business on any potential new drink offerings. But the chain’s baristas are sharing images of the drink on Instagram under the hashtag #crystalballfrappuccino, in all of its peach-flavored, turquoise-marbled, cream-filled, rock candy-topped glory. One barista reports on Instagram that the new drink comes in three variations. A picture shows Frappuccinos sprinkled with three different colors of candy topping.

The Crystal Ball Frappuccino comes at a time when the coffee giant is looking to shift the marketing strategy around its frozen drink lineup. The chain’s once-popular summer afternoon Frappuccino Happy Hour promotion hasn’t been attracting consumers as it once did, Scott Maw, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief financial officer, explained at the UBS Global Consumer & Retail Conference earlier this month.

“So, we're going to do very different things around happy hour this year,” Maw said. “Basically, the Frappuccino Happy Hour that you know is going away and something new is coming in.”

He did not say what that happy hour would look like, but he did say to expect “shorter product innovation sparks,” including innovative Frappuccino flavors that are offered for three or four weeks at a time. Starbucks Rewards customers received emails that this year’s happy hour promotion would begin March 29.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Emerging Brands

Currito finds its groove, 20 years in

The healthful, fast-casual concept has struck a chord as a franchise brand that plays in the same space as non-franchised Cava, Sweetgreen and Chipotle.

Financing

Once the dominant delivery providers, pizza chains have taken a back seat to aggregators

The Bottom Line: Sales at fast-food pizza chains have stagnated for the past three years, according to the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Blame the rise of DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Financing

In Hooters, another example of private-equity excess

The Bottom Line: The casual-dining chain’s owners loaded the company up with too much debt coming out of the pandemic. The result was a predictable bankruptcy.

Trending

More from our partners