DALLAS -- Combining two top-selling beverage concepts—coffee and frozen carbonated beverages—into one new drink, 7-Eleven Inc. has created the Slurpuccino, a coffee-flavored Slurpee.
The Café Latté-flavored Slurpuccino is not a milk-based product, but is caffeinated, fat-free and has 61 calories per 8-oz. serving. Prices are similar to other Slurpee drinks, which range from 99 cents for a 12-oz. cup to $1.69 for 40 ounces.
The company added that it expects to offer the new drink in a hazelnut-cappuccino flavor this fall.
"Slurpuccino capitalizes on [image-nocss] the consumer-driven trend of coffee-flavored products and, while it may be more of a grown-up Slurpee, we believe young adults and older teens will enjoy it as well," said Jay Wilkins, category manager for Slurpee and Big Gulp fountain drinks.
Developed for Dallas-based 7-Eleven stores by The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, the Slurpuccino drink is a new beverage platform with Café Latté as the version offered. The coffee- and caramel-flavored frozen drink targets young adults ages 18-34, both male and female. More than 75% of Slurpee drinkers are under the age of 34.
"Coffee flavors are 'hot' right now, whether served hot, cold or frozen," Wilkins said. "We sell millions of Slurpee drinks each month, plus numerous chilled coffee-flavored drinks in the stores' cold vault. This indicates we have a very receptive customer base for the Slurpuccino drink."
The retailer said that compared to some other retailers' frozen cappuccino drinks, 7-Eleven's coffee-flavored Slurpee beverage has approximately one-third the calories, half the sugar and no fat grams. Adding a whipped topping can raise fat content by 20 grams. Compared to a cup of coffee, which contains between 100 and 175 milligrams of caffeine, an 8-oz. Slurpuccino has only 5 mg.
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