Read This Before Eating Another Starbucks Cake Pop
If you're a fan of cake pops in general, and of Starbucks' cake pops in particular, you might want to take a closer look at the next cake pop you consume from the coffee giant.
Tiktok user Taylor Boullard, also known to her followers as @teabezel28, got the cake pop surprise of her life when she took apart what she thought was a pink frosted treat. "Uh that's not chocolate chips ... Starbucks what's good?" she said while displaying what looked like a vanilla cake pop covered with moldy green spots.
The tummy turning video has been viewed 1.7 million times. "It just felt strange like the frosting just pulled off," Boullard tells Today. "I'm already sort of always skeptical of food so I just looked down and before I could even start chewing the bite I took off, I saw the mold and spit it back into my hand." The offending cake pop was purchased at a Boston airport.
Starbucks has been panned for the way it tried to make amends
Because Starbucks appears to be completely plugged into social media, it responded to Boullard's post by offering to make amends for the offending pastry. "We're concerned and want to learn more so we can make it right," Starbucks said in a comment that's captured more than 286 thousand likes (via the Daily Dot). "Please call us at 1-800-782-7282. Thank you."
But the apology and the promise of a full investigation may not be enough for Starbucks' most ardent cake pop fans to cut the brand any slack. "No. I just ate one yesterday while driving and didn't bother to look," one TikTok user said. "Now I'm all stressed." Another said, "I ate one whole like 10 minutes ago now I'm scared for my life" (via the Daily Dot).
In any case, Starbucks hasn't exactly won points for the way it tried to fix the problem. As teabezel28 later reported, the coffee giant offered her a $25 gift card for her troubles, and she returned to TikTok to talk about it. "No makeup but I don't really care here's y'all's Starbucks update I'll post screenshots too 25$ gift card," she said. Judging by teabezel28's reaction, we think this matter is far from resolved.
Starbucks had something to say about cake pops on Mother's Day
While we're still waiting for Starbucks to respond to @teabezel28 for her shocked comment about the $25 gift card, it's good to see that that the company knows how to poke a bit of fun at itself. On Mother's Day, the coffee giant used Twitter to greet moms everywhere, saying: "Cheers to the moms who can make anything better with some comforting words (and a cake pop). Happy Mother's Day." Of course, the responses depended entirely on what people's Starbucks customer experience was.
One Twitter user shared a photo of what looked like a spare part at the bottom of a coffee cup, saying: "Cheers for having my mom around today, this is what she got in her Starbucks Latte last year. Mgr said it fell in while brewing. That's what really happened? Still waiting for proper compensation." Others took to social media with the claim that the coffee giant might have had a tech glitch that kept customers from sending gift cards via iMessage, even if they'd already been charged (via Twitter).
The moldy cake pop didn't curb appetites for the Starbucks product
Still, there were others who either didn't get the memo on the cake pop — or might have chosen to ignore the mold issue altogether — because their Starbucks cake pop complaints were of a different nature altogether. One Twitter user wailed: "but...there are no more cake pops anymore and our kids are not happy and our days are ruined!!!!" Another painted a "what if" scenario, saying "What if you went to @Starbucks to get said cake pop... and also ordered a brownie and a muffin for my wife and when you got home there was no Mother's Day brownie which was one of the main reasons for going to Starbucks in the first place." A third said: "Thanks but please restock cake pops in Pittsburgh. All stores have been sold out of the birthday one for weeks."
These complaints might shed some light on how the alleged moldy cake pop came to be. It appears Starbucks has been experiencing supply shortages and disruptions for important supplies, from cups to syrups and baked goods thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic (via Business Insider). And while most Starbucks locations are good about getting rid of products close to (or just hitting) their best by dates, this one could have slipped through the cracks (via Daily Dot). We're hoping that was a one-off.