Hong Kong — Starbucks is teaming up with Blackpink, one particular of the world’s hottest musical functions.
The prolific female group, acknowledged for legions of lovers across the globe who contact themselves “Blinks,” announced a tie-up Thursday with the world’s most significant coffee chain to introduce a new beverage and line of merchandise.
The centerpiece of the lineup is the Blackpink Strawberry Choco Cream Frappuccino, a drink that is an aptly hued mix of black and pink.
It is manufactured of a combine of strawberry syrup and darkish chocolate sauce with oat milk and chocolate curls, topped with pink whipped cream and a heart-formed piece of chocolate.
It really is anticipated to roll out at find outlets following Tuesday, along with a selection of Blackpink-themed drinkware and add-ons, these kinds of as tumblers and keychains.
The line will be offered at 4,500 stores in nine Asian marketplaces, like Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines, until eventually materials final.
“We are so thrilled to companion with a single of the largest icons of this era,” Emmy Kan, president of Starbucks (SBUX) Asia Pacific, reported in a assertion.
Like other important world manufacturers, Starbucks is leaning into the frenzy about K-pop, hoping that it will translate to a strengthen in gross sales.
The enterprise has partnered with Blackpink in advance of, launching a collection of items in Thailand two decades ago.
This is the very first time they’ve collaborated on a regional scale or developed a menu item, according to Starbucks.
The chain has previously teamed up with BTS, the beloved South Korean boy band.
Blackpink — a quartet of users Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé — debuted in 2016 and appreciated a swift ascent to world wide stardom.
The bestselling group is currently on a environment tour. In 2022, the group was named Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year, becoming just the next K-pop team to acquire the title.
This sort of accolades have fueled business curiosity. Western companies from Netflix to Dior are trying to get to hard cash in on the wave of popularity encompassing Korean written content and society.
In recent decades, both Blackpink and BTS have partnered with Disney (DIS) for its streaming services as the entertainment big seeks to acquire new subscribers.
But in March, business mogul Bang Si-Hyuk told CNN that despite the excitement close to K-pop, he nervous about the genre’s industrial expansion.
It can be “not as hot in the market as you could understand,” claimed Bang, chairman of HYBE, the administration agency guiding hit bands together with BTS and NewJeans. “Being where by we are, it is additional urgent to increase the publicity.”
