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Unexpected Twist: Coffee Mate’s Piña Colada Creamer Inadvertently Featured in Dark “White Lotus” Finale
Choose your brew carefully. Coffee Mate, the brand that recently launched a piña colada flavored creamer in a promotional tie-in with the HBO series “The White Lotus,” expressed surprise after realizing its product became central to a shocking murder-suicide storyline in the Season 3 finale. The Nestle-owned company acknowledged the unforeseen connection with the dark plot twist.
Coffee Mate Responds to Controversial Plotline on Social Media
On Tuesday, the beverage brand posted a brief statement on Instagram, simply stating, “Well this is awkward.” The social media acknowledgment reflects the company’s reaction to the unexpected and grim depiction of their piña colada creamer within the popular television drama.
Details of the “White Lotus” Season Finale and the Creamer’s Role
During the Season 3 finale of “The White Lotus,” which aired Sunday evening on HBO, the character Timothy Ratliff, portrayed by Jason Isaacs, utilized the piña colada beverage to attempt to poison his family during their Thailand vacation. His targets included his wife Victoria (Parker Posey) and two of their children, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger). Notably, he refrained from serving the drink to his underage son, Lochlan (Sam Nivola).
Unbeknownst to his family, Timothy faced imminent financial ruin and imprisonment due to white-collar crimes, making their extravagant getaway their swan song. In a darkly humorous and disturbing turn, Timothy intended to “save” his family from this impending downfall through a macabre act.
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In the season finale, Timothy laced piña coladas with poisonous fruit seeds and offered them to his family, seemingly as a twisted means of preventing them from facing financial hardship. However, in a last-minute change of heart, Timothy knocked the drink from Saxon’s grasp, fabricating a claim about spoiled milk.
Despite Timothy’s last-minute intervention, Lochlan narrowly escaped death after inadvertently consuming the poison the following morning. He made a smoothie in the same blender used for the tainted piña coladas without cleaning it, highlighting the lingering danger.
Coffee Mate President Expresses Surprise at Plot Integration
Daniel Jhung, president of the Nestlé USA coffee and beverage division, revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the brand was unaware of the storyline. “Obviously, the writers keep this [under] lock and key, so we didn’t know that piña colada was such a featured part of the last episode,” Jhung stated, emphasizing the secrecy surrounding the show’s plot developments.
He further explained, “I will say that in retrospect, we were showcasing the various flavors, and the fact that ‘The White Lotus’ team suggested, ‘Oh, you know, piña colada is a really good idea, you should go in that direction’—it now appears to make sense.” Jhung acknowledged the ironic twist of fate in the flavor selection.
Marketing Team Discovers Plot Twist Live, Reacts Quickly
Jhung elaborated that the marketing department learned of the beverage’s pivotal role in the finale while watching the episode as it aired. The team’s genuine fandom of the show led to the initial brand partnership.
“The marketing team is a huge fan of the show, which is precisely why we chose to align with this property. Again, we had no prior knowledge [of the plot]. The piña colada element was unexpected for us as well. However, upon viewing the episode, they reacted promptly through our Instagram presence,” he noted, highlighting the marketing team’s swift and humorous response.
He affirmed that their “awkward” Instagram post was “perfectly aligned with the show’s conclusion,” capturing the darkly comedic tone of the situation.
Potential Sales Boost from “White Lotus” Feature
Jhung commented on the unknown impact on creamer sales resulting from the episode’s unexpected focus on the piña colada flavor.
“We don’t acquire consumption data for another week. Therefore, we will likely observe next week how sales performed this week. The ongoing weekly episodes of the show contribute to generating buzz for the flavors. Consequently, both are performing favorably in the market through the initial quarter,” he shared. “However, I do anticipate that next week, when I review the sales figures, the piña colada flavor will experience a slight increase as consumers try it, purely for the novelty.”
Other Season 3 Fatalities and Series Premise
Each season of the Mike White created series is situated at a distinct location of the eponymous resort chain, following a group of affluent and unhappy vacationers until a death occurs. In Season 3, the primary character deaths were ultimately the age-disparate couple Rick (Walton Goggins) and Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood). They tragically died in a shootout initiated by Rick.
Notably, piña coladas were not implicated in their demises, keeping the unexpected beverage connection unique to the Ratliff family’s storyline.