Coffee Mate had no idea its ‘White Lotus’ creamer was a season finale Easter egg
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 3 of “The White Lotus.”
Coffee Mate’s “White Lotus” piña colada-flavored creamer, which came out in January, was actually a nod to the show’s explosive finale.
On April 6, the HBO show aired its Season 3 finale, and after eight episodes of blackmailing, gossiping and one eye-opening monologue, audiences finally found out who was floating dead in the water during the most-watched episode of the series so far.
Prior to that, patriarch Tim Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) nearly killed his family with poisoned piña coladas, a plot point that fans — and Coffee Mate, apparently — had no clue about until the show aired.
“well this is awkward,” Coffee Mate posted on Instagram April 7, along with an image of its creamer, now loaded with context, in addition to pineapple and coconut flavorings.
Of course, social media had a field day with the revelation.
“the Piña colada flavored Coffee mate makes so much sense now,” posted one X user, and another responded, “Also a bit diabolical…”
“Piper nooooooo,” an Instagram user wrote, quoting Parker Posey’s viral moment from her TODAY appearance.
“this is iconic marketing,” commented someone on on Instagram.
“The coconut milk is OFF!!!” wrote another, quoting Isaac’s character when he suddenly decides against poisoning his family.
“Suddenly this creamer doesn’t seem very appetizing,” one TikToker said.
“NOT MIKE WHITE MAKING OUR COFFEE AN EASTER EGG 🤣💀,” screamed another TikTok user, showing the creamer in their fridge. They also urged folks to wash their blenders.
“While we couldn’t have predicted the season finale — and can confirm, were equally on the edge of our seats — we wanted our creamers to deliver on the five-star vacation vibes and growing consumer popularity of ‘destination flavors,’” Daniel Jhung, president of coffee & beverage for Nestlé USA, tells TODAY.com.
Jhung also revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the writers kept the association under “lock and key” the entire season, but they were enthusiastic when the company initially proposed the flavor.
“I will say that in hindsight, we were showing the different flavors, and the fact that ‘The White Lotus’ team was like, ‘Oh, you know, piña colada is a really good idea, you should go in that direction’—it now kind of makes sense,” he said.
And this isn’t even the first time this season that the HBO show has made headlines for dicey brand associations: Tim — you know, the character who nearly murdered his whole family — frequently wore a Duke University T-shirt, including in a scene where he contemplates suicide.
This did not go over well with the school, who said in a March 27 statement to TODAY.com that the school did not “approve the use of its marks” and that it “creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation where none exists.”
Coffee Mate seems to be taking things a little bit better.
