CANTON, Mass. -- Monster Energy's test run in Dunkin' Donuts shops just got an extension as the restaurant chain begins making the energy drinks part of its made-to-order drink menu.
The coffee and doughnut chain is adding Dunkin' Energy Punch Powered by Monster Energy to the menu in shops in the Northeast and two markets in Florida (West Palm Beach and Miami), the company announced March 21. The drink will expand nationally later this year, according to a report in the Boston Herald.
The new Monster drink combines a can of Monster Energy with Dunkin' blue raspberry or strawberry fruit Coolatta flavors, served over ice, the newspaper reported. The drink is expected to appeal to younger males as a coffee alternative for a morning “pick-me-up” or afternoon “get-me-going,” according to Chris Fuqua, Dunkin’s senior vice president of marketing, global insights and innovation.
“This is something different than we’ve done in the past,” he said. “We think it goes after a whole new consumer.”
The frozen drink, which will launch this summer, has a “coffee-forward” flavor, according to Dunkin’ executive chef Jeff Miller. It’s made in a blender with Dunkin’ coffee extract blended with ice, liquid cane sugar and dairy.
“We talked to consumers, and this is the profile they’re really looking for in a frozen coffee beverage,” Miller told the newspaper.
Monster CEO Rodney Sacks said earlier this month that its test—selling packaged energy drinks in a quick-serve-restaurant atmosphere—with Dunkin' is expanding, while a test in McDonald's is ongoing. He also suggested newer drink Mutant Monster, the company's swing at Mountain Dew, may join one or both of those tests.
"We alluded earlier to the fact that we were launching Mutant in a number of chains later this year," he said during an earnings call on March 1. "You can read into that, but certainly one of them is a major retailer."
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