We're Rushing To McDonald's For Its New Frozen Hawaiian Punch
Although we've long championed McDonald's Sprite as the most exciting drink on the chain's menu, we now have to ask Sprite to step aside. Not entirely, of course, but just enough to make room for McDonald's new frozen Hawaiian Punch.
According to ChewBoom, the new frozen Hawaiian Punch joins McDonald's frozen drink repertoire of Fanta blue raspberry and Coca-Cola, among other seasonal flavors. A medium frozen Hawaiian Punch costs around $1.80, depending on where you buy it. One YouTuber has already sampled and reviewed the drink, describing it as "very strong, very tart" and "an explosion of fruity goodness." He likened it to the Sour Patch Kids candy, and noted it was "really fun having it in frosted form." All that being said, we have a few guesses as to why McDonald's is suddenly putting so much effort into its frozen drink line, and it's not because summer is just around the corner.
Are frozen drinks the best way for McDonald's to keep up with competitors?
No doubt about it, McDonald's is a fast food force to be reckoned with. However, in this day and age, no one, not even McDonald's, can sit back and consider itself safe for long. Competitors are always lurking, releasing new products and enticing customers. This could very well be why McDonald's has been paying extra attention to frozen drinks lately, because as The Street points out, this is an area where Taco Bell has been excelling. Since launching the Mountain Dew Baja Blast freeze in 2013 to help increase drive-thru sales, Taco Bell has only added more and more frozen drinks to its menu.
By introducing its own frozen drinks, McDonald's not only borrowed Taco Bell's drive-thru tactic but found an opportunity for new licensing deals. As one Youtube review notes, the frozen Hawaiian Punch is a bit different from McDonald's usual frozen drink flavors of Minute Maid lemonades and Coke products. If the chain is hoping to draw in customers with its new drink, well, all we can say is there are plenty more Hawaiian Punch flavors to try freezing in the future.