Starbucks sells out its secret menu

Starbucks unveiled secret menu items on its app this week In a not-so-secret very constituents publicity campaign the coffee giant broadcasted that select customizations for its bulk popular secret menu drinks would now be available for Starbucks Rewards members to order through the app Starting July Starbucks Rewards members can choose from four newly app-listed secret menu drinks a nod to long-standing fan-made concoctions that have floated through social media and internet forums for years But while the drinks themselves are largely just hyper-customized takes on existing beverages the names suggest a branding effort that leans hard into engineered whimsy Cookies On Top Dragonfruit Glow-Up Just Add White Mocha and Lemon Tea Pearls The choices reflect Starbucks ongoing attempt to keep pace with online beverage values and perhaps to appear more playful and approachable in the process Still the effect reads more like corporate cosplay branding designed to mimic the internet s casual eccentricity yet polished to within an inch of relatability Related Staring into the glittery heart of Starbucks darkness Starbucks says the secret menu will regularly feature new drinks and customizations And if the current batch is any indication we can apparently expect more sugary mashups with names that sound like they were written by ChatGPT after an hour on Instagram Hey Chat write me four drink names that scream fun down to earth and relatable even though we re a billion global company that just laid off people a scarce months ago Alongside the launch Starbucks also stated a secret menu contest Through July customers and Starbucks partners read employees can submit their own beverage creations for a chance to be featured on the app Each of the four finalists will win the grand prize winner gets an additional This rollout comes just days after Starbucks launched its new Strato beverages a Frappuccino topped with cold foam instead of whipped cream which hit stores on July So why the back-to-back blitz What s the angle We need your help to stay independent Subscribe nowadays to help Salon s progressive journalism For particular longtime fans the secret menu evokes a very different vibe I remember scrolling ancient-looking blog posts in the early s hunting down elaborate custom Frappuccino recipes I wasn t even allowed to drink coffee yet but I d march into my local Starbucks and show the barista a screenshot on my iPod Touch Sometimes they were confused sometimes they didn t have the ingredients but sometimes they were just as excited to try something weird and new as I was That was before mobile ordering before TikTok could shame you for a complicated drink It felt scrappy and earnest like being in on something Starbucks has co-opted fan-made drinks before The Medicine Ball now Honey Citrus Mint Tea started as a secret menu hack before landing on the official menu And even then specific customers still call it by its original name much to the baristas annoyance Earlier this year Starbucks tweaked the Honey Citrus Mint Tea after discontinuing the Peach Tranquility blend and fans weren t thrilled If you want the OG Medicine Ball now you re back to DIYing it The Pink Drink and Cotton Candy Frappuccino also began as secret menu creations before becoming mainstream staples And now with the app the idea of a truly secret drink feels increasingly quaint The platform makes it easy to explore customizations without the pressure of ordering face-to-face which has huge appeal for socially anxious Gen Zers In the current era nothing stays secret for long Entire accounts are built around viral Starbucks hacks and if a drink is good or just looks good it spreads fast The company isn t revealing a secret so much as embracing a business model that was already thriving on social media Starbucks doesn t really care if your custom order makes your barista sigh What they care about is app engagement They re not selling care they re selling convenience For years a multitude of secret menu customizations weren t available in the app which nudged customers into ordering in-store Now those hindrances are gone and so is any illusion of the secret menu being underground What s left is a smooth upcharged pipeline for sugary drinks dressed up in cutesy names and convenient packaging Starbucks made it easier than ever to pay for coffee that s mostly syrup and they re hoping you ll feel quirky and seen while doing it Read more about this topic Starbucks sales dip as customers seek better-priced coffee elsewhere It s been a bad month for Starbucks Ex-CEO Howard Schultz agrees Customers are suing Starbucks over a discriminatory surcharge for non-dairy milk alternatives The post Starbucks sells out its secret menu appeared first on Salon com