There are only three more days before the world-renowned coffee brand stops serving up the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, which trended on social media thanks to its seemingly charming look. It's reminiscent of Lisa Frank stationery and school supplies, those that most of us toted back in grade school. But is there more to what meets the eye with this new limited edition drink?
Photogenic frappuccino for Instagram
There's no doubt about how Starbucks masterfully markets their products. Some have even gone on to say that baristas misspell customers' names on purpose to create buzz online.
When one snaps a photo of their misspelled name and posts it on social media, that equates to free marketing, and a lot of dollars saved on advertising. This begs the question, are they doing the same for the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino?
The A.V. Club put it bluntly—the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino "is the first mass-market beverage explicitly created for Instagram users" and is a "faddish pop cultural artifact." It's the iPhone 7 of frappuccinos. It's only available until April 23, pressuring consumers to grab their grandes and litter other people's Instagram feeds with snapshots of the oh-so-colorful drink.
The non-magical truth about its nutrition facts
The coffee company released an official statement describing their newest offering, revealing just how much sugar and sodium is inside one grande (16oz) Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino.
For starters, saturated fat makes up for 50% of the daily value, with about 10g. There's also 45mg of cholesterol, and 230mg of sodium, making up for 15% and 10%, respectively. There's also 59 grams of sugar, which is so much more than your regular 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola or a Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar.
With all that going on in the Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, one begs the question, what does it taste like?
Customers have unsurprisingly taken to social media to air their thoughts. Starbucks claims that the drink "[starts] off sweet and fruity transforming to pleasantly sour," but some who have tried it beg to differ. Some claimed it tasted like Pedialyte, orange Trident gum, hot dog water, and even the aftertaste of vomit. Now whether Starbucks considers this one-time offer, success remains to be seen.
In some parts of Asia, the coffee company revealed a similar offering earlier this month—the Green Tea Strawberry Blossom Frappuccino, which was met with generally favorable reviews. Are you brave enough to try the Unicorn Frappuccino before April 23?
