Is Erewhon’s Viral ‘Cloud’ Smoothie Worth Paying $17 For? We Dive In
If you’ve spent any time exploring the depths of FoodTok recently, you’ve surely come across videos of a beautiful blue coconut smoothie that hails from some far-off magical land called Erewhon. People want to know what this thing tastes like, how to make it at home, and just genuinely enjoy looking at its blue swirling ribbons and beautiful gradient. It’s like a drinkable marble!
This organic vegan-friendly smoothie is officially known as Marianna’s Coconut Cloud Smoothie (named after and co-created by influencer Marianna Hewitt), and we hate to break it to you but despite how magical Erewhon sounds, it’s not in fact some distant magical city from Middle Earth. It’s just some super hip LA supermarket that everyone from Kanye West to Jake Gyllenhal to Hilary Duff likes to shop at. Basically it’s shopping for people who have a Raya account.
So it shouldn’t surprise you when we say that this super hip influencer-branded LA smoothie from a bougie health store that caters to the stars costs a jaw-dropping $17.
I’m sorry but I don’t care what your zip code is, that’s a lot of fucking money for a smoothie (and that’s not even Erewhon’s most expensive smoothie). So naturally we wondered — is it worth it?
Marianna’s Coconut Cloud Smoothie
Before we break down what this thing tastes like we need to talk about what’s in it and why it’s $17 in the first place. Marianna’s Coconut Cloud Smoothie consists of a MALK almond milk base with avocado, almond butter, banana, pineapple, vanilla collagen, vanilla stevia, a layer of coconut cream, and the star ingredient, Blue Majik, a dried extract of Spirulina that gives this shake its characteristic marbled blue color. It’s organic, vegan, healthy, and free of gums, fillers, oils, and carrageenan and doesn’t look “delicious” so much as it does “pretty.”
But let’s price that out, you’ve got Malk Almond milk, which retails for about $6 a bottle, avocado, let’s be generous here and price that at $2 per, organic almond butter, let’s say $10 a jar, vanilla collagen, a supplement with a $40 price tag (for a whole bunch of servings!), banana, pineapple, coconut cream… — okay never mind let’s not price it out, we’ll give you $17 just to avoid doing the math and the shopping this would require.
Is this smoothie expensive? Hell yes. But it has a bunch of stuff in it that warrants its ridiculous price tag. Yes, you can buy all of these ingredients, mix them up yourself, and make Coconut Cloud Smoothies for days but would you want to? Not unless you have a very smoothy-centric home. There are economies of scale here!
Flavorwise, the Coconut Cloud Smoothie is a lot more subtle than its appearance would suggest. It’s not one of those sugar-packed Frankensteinian Starbucks stunt drinks made purely for the ‘gram (or… the Tok now). Instead, it has a subtly sweet and satisfying flavor with a consistency so thick we feel comfortable calling it ‘hearty.’
Over a slightly fruity pineapple and banana-flavored body hover ghostly notes of vanilla and coconut, it’s just sweet enough to be addicting without tasting like candy. The natural sweetness of this smoothie never overpowers the primary flavor though — this is by all accounts a health smoothie and it tastes like one. It has an overall tropical and plant-y flavor to it that uses its sweetness as an accessory, not a showcase.
I liked it, I’d never bother to make it at home though, which is unfortunate because it’s only available at Erewhon until the end of April. Luckily, Erewhon hasn’t exactly been shy about sharing the ingredients, and thanks to TikTok, where the terms “Erewhon Smoothie Recipe” and “Coconut Cloud Smoothie” have billions of searches combined, there is no shortage of cost-effective DIY Coconut Cloud smoothie recipes.
The Bottom Line:
You’re paying for a social media influencer’s name, the up-charge of a fancy market brand beloved by celebrities and the Raya elite, and premium ingredients, but you’re also paying for the convenience of not having to blend it yourself. If you’re the type of person who is looking for the kind of smoothie that is, by all nutritional accounts, a meal, Marianna’s Coconut Cloud Smoothie is definitely for you. Assuming you can drop close to a $20 spot every time you want a drink.
But if you’re the type of person who can’t stomach the idea of paying $17 to drink a smoothie, this smoothie isn’t going to change your mind, tasting it would only justify your stance. If you pick it up you might as well also take the time to post it on social media though… I guess that’s the price of content.
Pick up Marianna’s Coconut Cloud Smoothie exclusively at Erewhon.