
Family Mart’s newest drink campaign shoots for the moon and promises a rainbow of dreamy starshine flavors.
Whether you get taken in by the craze or not, there’s no denying the gravitational pull of a limited beverage. Starbucks Japan’s seasonal offeringsmake headlinesalmost every holiday, and even something as classic as a Pepsi or Sprite gains an exotic edge from a unique (or equally important, limited) flavor.
Family Mart, one of the most popular convenience store chains in Japan, is no stranger to the power of a constantly rotating drink menu. Visitors can buy staple drinks like coffee, tea, and hot cocoa at the stores’ Family Mart Café machines, but every season also comes with its own specialty flavors in the form of Family Mart frozen frappes.
To get your own, pick your frappe base right out of a freezer, add hot milk from the café machine, then mix it with the special extra-wide straw. Voila, a great-tasting frappe without the coffee shop price tag!
▼ Just remember to use milk to mix it, not tea or coffee. Ahem.
These seasonal frappes usually play it safe on their trip to Flavortown with flavors like milk tea, strawberry, or chocolate mint. The newest additions to the line-up are much more adventurous, and promise to boldly go where few convenience store drinks have gone before…
The dramatic ad above introduces our two new stars. On the top, billing itself as “the taste of space”, is the Galactica Grape frappe. This frappe comes with colorful stripes of flavor: yellow (lemon), purple (blackberry and grape), and turquoise (orange).
Once filled with the hot milk and mulched into submission by your straw, the colors and tastes blend into a gorgeous grape-flavored galaxy that could give the Unicorn Frappucino a run for its money. It’ll make for a good selfie too!
If sci-fi isn’t your thing, the Fantasy Peach frappe is described as “a fanciful flavor from dreamland”. Bands of dark pink (white peach), orange (vanilla yogurt), and pale pink (lemon) swirl together into a beautiful pastel concoction that wouldn’t look out of place in a fairy tale. Once all those bands harmonize, the drink will taste like peach yogurt.
Both these otherworldly experiences can be yours for just 290 yen (US$2.65) per cup, and they’ll be in Family Mart freezers from April 29th.
What if your tastebuds aren’t especially adventurous? Family Mart has you covered. From May 6th, the stores will stock the rich and aromatic Café Frappe. Coffee beans from Columbia and Brazil form the base of this creamy classic, and it’s dusted throughout with ground Ethiopian Mocha beans. It’ll cost 270 yen (US$2.50) a shot.
Finally, you can grab the Banana Gelato frappe, though you’ll have to wait all the way until May 13th. Crammed full of rich banana juice and pieces of banana fruit imported from the Philippines, this drink has a special twist: buy a packet of the special chocolate syrup to squirt over the top and it’ll harden into a crunchy coating. As a choco-banana fan I can’t wait to shell out an extra 35 yen for that! The Banana Gelato drink retails for 320 yen (US$2.95).
▼ Banana Gelato Frappe + Crunchy Choco Syrup = Chocobanana Frappe!
Are these funky new flavors going to be enough to take on the coffee kings of Japan? Could you stomach a Galactica Grape frappe taste mixed with tea instead? Most importantly, which of these frappes do you want to try? Let us know!
Sources: Entabe, Family Mart
Top image: Family Mart
Insert images: Family Mart (1, 2)






We try a Family Mart Frappe produced by a former SMAP member
Pokémon starter frappe dessert drinks are waiting for you to choose them at Family Mart【Photos】
Lovers of aloe yogurt can rejoice because it’s now in frappe form thanks to Family Mart
Drinking sake just got more convenient with convenience store Family Mart’s new canned brews
Japan’s Cat Day comes to Family Mart convenience stores with huge line of feline-fun sweets, drinks
We revisited Sweets Paradise after a decade to see if Japan’s dessert buffet still delivers
Harajuku’s new permanent Tamagotchi shop is filled with cuteness and a surprising lack of poop
Japan’s two-month Shut-in Pilgrimage – A 1,200-year-old way to deal with a modern issue
Japanese thug wear from Birth Japan perfect for those breaking bad next year
Japan has an awesome one-person bento box rice cooker, and here’s what we made with ours
Tokyo all-you-can-eat tonkatsu pork cutlet restaurant is all we need for a happy meal
You can now buy a Japanese train station clock in Japan
Japan Misunderstood: 3 stereotypes that live on
Is the new Shinkansen Train Desk ticket worth it?
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Cyberpunk anime meets traditional culture in Ghost in the Shell gold leaf Japanese changing screens
7 great places to see Mt. Fuji from without having to climb it
Hello Kitty Choco Egg figures are an adorable trip through three periods of Japanese pop culture【Pics】
Japan’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
We found possibly the quietest Japanese-style hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Sumo Sanrio! Hello Kitty and pals team up with Japan Sumo Association for new merch【Pics】
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
Japanese convenience store creates a frappe from a popular candy
Japan super budget dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Family Mart?
Japanese convenience store teams up with centuries-old matcha shop for a very modern tea ceremony
Frozen annin tofu/almond tofu drinks appear at Japanese convenience stores【Taste Test】
What’s it like to shop at Family Mart’s first “unmanned convenience store” in Japan?
McDonald’s Japan’s new Peach Frappe is pretty as a peach, but is it any good?【Taste test】
Japan’s mint chocolate season hits Family Mart with 14 new choco mint treats (and five superstars)
Our honest review of Family Mart’s new bite-sized Pokechiki chicken
Japanese convenience store Family Mart announces abolishment of eat-in spaces
Crazy-athletic Japanese convenience store clerk may be employee of year, or Super Mario【Video】
Nintendo’s Kirby zooms into Japanese convenience stores Family Mart’s Super Satisfied Fest
Family Mart becomes Family Nyart with new range of sweets for Cat Day in Japan
Pokémon Sleep x Family Mart collaboration hits stores in Japan…with 20,000 life-sized Pikachus!
Convenience store Family Mart employs its first robot stocker
Family Mart’s cold ramen is the hottest convenience store meal in Japan right now
Mr. Sato takes on Family Mart’s “All-You-Can-Eat Convenience Store Challenge!”
Leave a Reply