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Sabrina Carpenter stars in Dunkin’ drink promotionSabrina Carpenter stars in Dunkin’ drink promotion

The performer of the hit song ‘Espresso’ lends her name to a new drink with oat milk and brown sugar

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

January 2, 2025

4 Min Read
Sabrina Carpenter Dunkin' collab
A still shot from the commercial starring Sabrina CarpenterCourtesy of Dunkin'

Dunkin’s latest celebrity partnership is with Sabrina Carpenter, the actress and musician whose 2024 song “Espresso” reached the third spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

On New Year’s Eve the quick-service chain introduced Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso as a limited-time offer. It’s made with espresso shaken with oat milk and brown sugar flavor.

The drink is being promoted with an ad called “Shake that Ess,’” as in espresso, produced by Artists Equity, the company run by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon that has developed numerous celebrity-oriented and other commercials for Dunkin’.

In the commercial, “Espresso” plays in the background while a variety of performers, including Carpenter, shake their drink in a new bit of merch that Dunkin’ has launched as part of the promotion. The limited-edition Shakin’ Espresso Shaker was made available at shopdunkin.com at noon on Dec. 31 and sold out in 17 minutes, according to a spokesperson, who said more than 2,000 shakers were offered for $12.99 apiece.

“When we first dreamed up Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso at Dunkin’, it had to be more than another delicious drink on the menu — we wanted to bring some levity to guests’ everyday coffee order,” Dunkin’ chief marketing officer Jill McVicar Nelson said in a statement. “Working with one of America’s most beloved pop stars, Sabrina Carpenter, adds a spirited, fresh energy that perfectly aligns with Dunkin’s love of bold taste and good-natured fun. Through our new ad campaign, we’re showing guests that their new drink order can be both delicious and a wink at embracing life’s lighter side — exactly what Dunkin’ is all about.”

Related:Martha Stewart promotes iced coffee shaking etiquette in Dunkin’ promotion

Shaking has long been a theme in Dunkin’s marketing initiatives. In 2023 it enlisted lifestyle celebrity Martha Stewart to star in a video about proper iced-drink shaking etiquette.

It later enlisted her to promote limited-edition Martini shakers.

That marketing effort came as sales of iced coffee and other cold drinks surged. They now make up the bulk of beverage sales at many coffee chains.

Dunkin’ launched a series of star-studded ads last summer, developed by Artists Equity, to promote its iced beverages, featuring such celebrities as Will Arnett, Maia Reficco, Joey Fatone, and A.J. McLean.

Dunkin’ is also rolling out an array of new menu items and a $5 meal deal, as well as promotions for its loyalty program members.

The value meal includes two Wake-Up Wraps, made with egg, cheese, and choice of meat in a flour tortilla, along with a 14-ounce hot coffee or 24-ounce iced coffee.

Related:Why the coffee segment is so hot right now

Additionally, the chain has introduced the following LTOs:

Lava Cake Signature Latte: Espresso with chocolate lava cake flavor and whole milk topped with whipped cream, mocha syrup and hot chocolate powder

• Lave Cake Coffee: Iced or hot coffee with lava cake flavor

• Chocolate Whoopie Pie Specialty Donut: A glazed chocolate cake doughnut split in half and filled with whipped vanilla-flavored icing

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@nationsrestaurantnews Just tried Dunkin’s new Chocolate Whoopie Pie doughnut! Curious to see how it tasted?Check out the full review and let me know if you've had it yet!
#dunkin#newdonut#doughnutreview#foodie#dessertlover#foodfinds#donutlove#treatyourself#nrnunboxing#dunkindonuts#mukbang#eatingshow#foodreview#fastfoodreview#fastfoodnews#foodnews#fyp Bake & Shake - ZayZonic

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• Iced Lemon Loaf: A returning favorite of lemon cake topped with lemon icing

The quick-service chain, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, is also offering special deals via its mobile app for loyalty program members.

Through Jan. 6 Dunkin’ Rewards members can get a $3 Maple Sugar Bacon Breakfast Sandwich (with maple sugar seasoned bacon, egg, and white cheddar cheese) with the purchase of a beverage. Then from Jan. 21 through Jan. 27 they can get a $3 Hash Brown Brisket Scramble (hash browns topped with a scrambled egg, shredded brisket, smoked cheddar, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, and cheddar sauce) with a beverage purchase.

Additionally, Dunkin’ Rewards members will receive 100 bonus points when ordering ahead on “Mobile Mondays” for the entire month.

Dunkin’ franchises more than 13,700 restaurants globally.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

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About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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