Dutch Bros Is Out-Starbucksing Rivals With the Sugariest Drinks

It’s not yet noon on a November weekday in the far-eastern suburbs of Phoenix, and the crew at the Crismon Road location of Dutch Bros Coffee is gearing up for what’s sure to be a wild afternoon. Two days ago on TikTok, the drive-thru-only chain announced a merch drop timed to a holiday it invented called National Passenger Princess Day, using Generation Z’s favorite term for someone who leaves the driving to others. The staff has almost tripled its usual head count to handle the expected surge, when customers who order a drink will also get one of three shimmery bumper magnets with phrases including “Dutch Princess.” They’ve lived this before. “Hundreds of people will line up here,” says store operator Bailey Monday. “It’s actually crazy to witness.” By the end of the week, she expects the magnets to be trading on eBay for hundreds of dollars. (Monday was almost right: Within a month, a full set was listed for $114.)

For the uninitiated, Dutch Bros Coffee Inc.—that’s pronounced “bros,” not “brothers”—is a big chain of tiny drive-thru huts manned by relentlessly cheerful and chatty teens who serve a menu of $7 candy-colored coffee concoctions, energy drinks and lemonades with names such as Poppin’ Boba Fire Lizard Rebel and Annihilator Blended Freeze. After more than 25 years of steady, bootstrapped expansion around the West, the company has vaulted from regional chain to national contender.