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.
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.
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