Starbucks unveiled “secret menu” items on its app this week. In a not-so-secret, very public publicity campaign, the coffee giant announced that select customizations for its most popular “secret menu” drinks would now be available for Starbucks Rewards members to order through the app.
Starting July 14, 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 culture — 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.
Starbucks says the “secret menu” will “regularly” feature new drinks and customizations. And if the current batch is any indication, we can probably 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 $40 billion global company that just laid off 1,000 people a few months ago.”)
Alongside the launch, Starbucks also announced a “secret menu” contest. Through July 20, 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 $5,000; the grand prize winner gets an additional $25,000.
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 8. So why the back-to-back blitz? What’s the angle?
We need your help to stay independent
For some longtime fans, the “secret menu” evokes a very different vibe. I remember scrolling ancient-looking blog posts in the early 2010s, 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, some 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.
Today, 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, many secret menu customizations weren’t available in the app, which nudged customers into ordering in-store. Now, those barriers 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 $10 for coffee that’s mostly syrup — and they’re hoping you’ll feel quirky and seen while doing it.