Nestlé Executive Reacts to “Awkward” ‘White Lotus’ Piña Colada Brand Collab With Coffee Mate

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[This story contains spoilers for The White Lotus season three finale, “Amor Fati.”]

The deadly Piña Colada came as a surprise, not just to fans of ‘White Lotus’, but also to the members of Coffee Mate’s advertising department.

The toxic Piña Colada took everyone by surprise, including enthusiasts of ‘White Lotus’ and Coffee Mate’s marketing personnel.

Back in the lead-up to the season three finale of Mike White’s critically acclaimed HBO series, “The White Lotus,” Nestlé, one of its sponsors, rolled out a piña colada-flavored creamer as part of our partnership. It wasn’t until the finale aired on Sunday that Daniel Jhung, president of Nestlé USA’s coffee and beverage division, realized the extent to which our collaboration mirrored the show’s narrative.

It turns out, the creators had been guarding the secret that piña colada played a significant role in the last episode. Jhung shared this with The Wall Street Journal recently, admitting that while we didn’t realize it at the time, looking back, the various flavors hinted at the possibility. It now becomes clear that when the team behind The White Lotus suggested using piña colada, they were on to something.

In the final episode of The White Lotus, character Timothy Ratliff (played by Jason Isaacs) almost murders his family by concocting piña coladas laced with harmful seeds from pong-pong tree fruit. Fortunately, he reconsiders at the last moment and grabs the poisoned drinks away from his loved ones. Tragically, the next day, Timothy’s youngest son Lochlan (portrayed by Sam Nivola) uses the same blender that still contained residue from the lethal drink mix to prepare a protein smoothie, narrowly escaping death.

Following the incident, the Coffee Mate marketing squad promptly responded on their Instagram page, casually commenting, “Oh, this is an embarrassing moment,” accompanied by a picture of their piña colada-flavored creamer.

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A post shared by Coffee mate (@coffeemate)

As an ardent admirer of the show, I’m thrilled to share that our marketing team chose one of these properties for the same reason. To be honest, we were just as taken aback by the piña colada twist, it was a surprise even to us! However, once we caught wind of it, our Instagram page quickly became a platform for expressing our swift reactions.

As a gamer, I couldn’t help but notice that the post I made about the game’s finale really struck a chord. It caught attention not just from players, but also from fellow gaming communities and even brands. Guess they thought it perfectly encapsulated the ending too!

Additionally, Jhung pointed out that Nestlé is prepared to venture into new, risky ventures in order to keep up with the current spirit of the times and popular culture, thereby appealing to younger audiences.

A different scenario applies to Duke University; they criticized the HBO series following an instance where Isaacs’ character donned a shirt bearing Duke’s iconic emblem, during a scene depicting Timothy considering suicide while pointing a gun at his own head.

The White Lotus television series has been using our brand without our consent. Furthermore, the imagery they’ve chosen to associate with our brand contradicts our values and identity, going beyond what is appropriate.

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2025-04-11 05:54