Starbucks vs Dunkin‘: It’s a timeless coffee shop battle between two franchises that carry out both very disparate marketing campaigns. Although they boast similar base business models built on coffee, sweet treats, and packed sandwiches, there are some offerings that are distinct to each of these respective businesses.
Take the cake pop, for instance. This is an item uniquely attributed to Starbucks and Starbucks alone—unless this post from a TikTok user named Nicki (@nix__h) is showing off a legitimate Dunkin’ offering. That might have just changed the game for cake pop lovers everywhere.
According to Nicki, Dunkin’ is now offering the sweet treat on a stick, but there are people who are seriously questioning whether or not these are the real deal. Or, if perhaps the TikToker simply stuck a plastic coffee topper on a munchkin and called it a day for some internet clout.
@nix__h Dunkin cake pops>>starbucks cake pops! #momlife #fyp #momhacks #foryoupage ♬ original sound – nicki
Nicki records her video from the interior of a car. She holds a small box from Dunkin’ in her hand that she presents to the camera and speaks directly down the barrel of the lens as she waxes on about her find.
“OK, I just wanna let my other moms know that have cake pop obsessed kids, um, if you’re not aware, Dunkin’, actually has cake pops,” she says. “My son asked me for [a] cake pop every day and they’re like 3-something dollars from Starbucks, and that just adds up really quick.”
She continues, “Dunkin’ has boxes of cake pops they come in a six pack, this is the Oreo flavor, umm you can see there’s five in here I gave one to my son,” she says, as she opens the box.
The cake pops look like munchkins that have had plastic lid stoppers placed inside of them. Nicki states that they are much more cost-friendly than the ones she buys at Starbucks. “You get a box for six dollars, and they’re honestly better than the Starbucks ones,” she claims. “So you just have a box of these, and yeah you get like 3 1/2 cake pops for the price of one. So, I feel like it’s not advertised on their menu very well, but just ask for cake pops.”
According to Cupcake Jones, Dunkin’ locations do indeed sell cake pops, even if it doesn’t look like there are any official mentions of it on the popular coffee chain’s website. The franchise has, in the past, offered up recipes for folks on how they could make themselves some sweet seasonal treats using munchkins as a base for their own cake pops. But again, perusing its food items online and there aren’t any results for cake pops.
TikTokers weren’t exactly convinced that the cake pops Nicki showed off on camera were the real deal. One person simply stated: “They don’t have cake pops.” Another penned, “now I need dunkin to respond and confirm if these are really just munchkins with a coffee stir shoved through them or if you’re dunkin has some.”
One user speculated that it “Looks like Those are like the lid stoppers stuffed into a cake donut with chocolate. And an employee wrote on that munchkin box? Idk.”
Another TikTok user seemed to have a problem with Nicki’s reasoning for being so excited about the cake pops to begin with, stating that just because her child wants a cake pop doesn’t mean that she needs to go out of her way in order to get them for her to begin with. “…we weren’t gonna go to starbucks every day anyway girl. lol just because you kid ‘wants’ one daily doesn’t mean you have to get them one,” the user wrote.
Nicki responded to folks’ accusations that she’s lying about the cake pop conundrum by uploading a follow-up clip stating that the offerings are only available at Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin’ joint locations and that not every single store sells them.
The Daily Dot reached out to Nicki via TikTok comment and Dunkin’ via email for further information.