White Castle has partnered with Coca-Cola and Captain Puffy, a gaming YouTuber and Twitch streamer, to create a new drink – Sprite Puffy Mix – available only at White Castle restaurants.
The Coca-Cola Freestyle drink combines Sprite with grape and raspberry notes and is available now through Dec. 31 in-person, online or at the drive-thru. Customers who order online or through the brand’s app using the code “PUFFY” will receive a free small soft drink.
“Collaborating with Captain Puffy gives us the opportunity to connect with some of our fans in a way we haven’t connected with them before,” Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle, said in a release. “We know a lot of our Cravers are also big-time gamers, so this partnership with Captain Puffy helps us reach them where they are."
Captain Puffy is known for her Among Us and Minecraft gaming content. She is also a former Origins Member. She has 1.6 million Twitch followers, nearly 250,000 YouTube subscribers, over 832,000 TikTok followers and 688,000 Instagram followers.
With this announcement, White Castle becomes the latest brand to tap into the digital creator community to woo younger consumers. Chuck E. Cheese, for instance, just launched LankyBox Kitchen in collaboration with YouTubers Justin Kroma and Adam McArthur. Their LankyBox channel has nearly 21.5 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, YouTuber David Dobrik just opened DoughBriks Pizza in Los Angeles, while MrBeast, who has 114 million YouTube subscribers, now has nearly 1,800 virtual MrBeast Burger locations and recently opened a brick-and-mortar location to a crowd of 10,000 people. The objective with these collaborations is to tap into the growing spending power of Gen Z. A Bloomberg report from last year noted this generation has $360 billion in disposable income. Gaming is a clear target for that spending. According to Deloitte Insights, nearly 30% of Gen Z teens say gaming is their favorite entertainment activity, while nearly half of Gen Z and younger have spent money on games.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
