More News About Pink Liquids: Starbucks Edition

Starbucks might be painting the town pink later this year, and by the town, I mean your local grocery store. For years we’ve had a large variety of ready-to-drink Starbucks concoctions available at supermarkets, gas stations, and Walmart Supercenters, but now the heavily debated, oh-so-sought-after queen of 2016, the Starbucks Pink Drink herself, will be coming to us all bottled up later this year.

So what is Starbucks Pink Drink? Is it anything like Pink Sauce or P!NK the artist or the Pink the Panther?

Well, it is like Pink Sauce in that it is pink, P!NK the artist in that it is very popular, and the Pink Panther in that I believe a movie about Pink Drink would almost certainly star Steve Martin. Pink Drink is Starbuck’s second-ever non-coffee ready-to-drink (RTD) offering and will be joining their current RTD lineup of Frappuccinos, cold brews, and energy drinks. If you’re not famils, Starbucks Pink Drink started off as a secret menu item that went viral in 2016 for its bright pink color and general off-menu mystique. The drink contains a Strawberry Açai base, coconut milk, freeze-dried strawberries, and ice. It was later added to the Starbucks menu in 2017 and is still on there today as the “Pink Drink Starbucks Refreshers Beverage.” And now it will make its way into grocery aisles. As a Starbucks representative told The Takeout, “the brand will launch the Pink Drink ‘as a ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage, coming soon to grocery stores nationwide.’” That was back in September, but now beverage news Instagram account SodaSeekers is on the case. They unearthed a picture of the packaging and conjectured that the Pink Drink, along with a pineapple passionfruit flavored “Paradise Drink,” will be released sometime in 2023. They haven’t confirmed an official release date, but it is neat to know what the bottles will likely look like when they do hit shelves.

I have to admit, I’ve tried the Pink Drink at Starbucks. It was pink and it was a drink. To be honest, I’m more curious about this other coconut milk-based passionfruit-pineapple concoction they are reported to be introducing along with it. But for all you Starbucks Pink Drink fans out there, get your pink lil purchasing hands ready because this pink puppy will be hitting stores sometime in the not-so-distant future.