Whipshots, a vodka-infused whipped cream product from Starco Brands and co-founder and partner Cardi B, has launched a new limited-edition lime flavor just in time for summer.
On a foggy Monday night in Santa Monica, the rapper, entrepreneur and media personality unveiled the flavor’s new “Whip It, Beaches” ad campaign and whipped up Whipshots cocktails for Bungalow guests.
Joining Vanilla, Mocha, and Caramel, the Lime flavor is now available for a limited time in retail stores (in 25 US states) and goes live June 14. At the end of the summer, Whipshots – which first launched a year and a half ago, and has sold more than 2 million cans to date – should be available for purchase on 37 markets (including Cardi’s native New York).
“I’m not really a big fan of soft lemon or lime flavors. (But) I love lemon and lime,” Cardi B said. The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive interview. “We tested three different lime flavors and (it was) so good and so perfect – like it wasn’t quite as potent. You know how sometimes lime pie is too strong? It was perfect, it tastes like fruity pebbles to me.
Cardi B at the Whipshots event
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
With the help of celebrity mixologist Rob Floyd, Cardi B concocted a range of cocktails, including a special Cardi-Rita and a Mojo Mojito finished with whipped cream, which contains 10% alcohol by volume. “Me personally, at home when I started using this Whipshot, I was thinking of making a cereal milkshake. I like to add a little vodka to my milkshake and then I use this whipped cream for that because that’s the kind of taste it gives. It tastes like cereal, like birthday cake…” Cardi shared.
She was also joined by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Violet Chachki and contestant Gottmik to celebrate Pride Month by pouring a bottle of limited-edition Absolut Vodka. In an exciting twist, Cardi – who said THR she is “coming out of music very very soon,” adding, “It’s a lot of pressure. But I’m coming” – asked them both to direct his next music video. (Their answer? An emphatic “yes”.)
It’s the fifth anniversary of the rapper’s debut album privacy breach, and though she’s been catching fans with feature films since, her sophomore album remains highly anticipated. In the meantime, she has occupied herself, among other things, with being a co-owner of Whipshots.
“I said to the owners, ‘I’m all for it if you’re all okay with it. I’ll put the work on my side – I’ll be at the events, I’ll be promoting it, we’re partners so I’ll go all out for this product – just make sure it tastes good, make sure make sure the cans are great, make sure there are no complaints. And then it’s like boom, here we are now,” she said. Beginning in June, Whipshots will engage in a special partnership with AMC Theaters across the country, where the new ad campaign will premiere on the big screen, and customers will be able to purchase the Enriched Whipped Cream at more than 250 theaters.
Cardi B at the Whipshots event
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
“She is an absolute force. And honestly, she has such vision and knows her audience so well that she can instantly say, ‘This is what we do, I want to go this way, I don’t want to go that way,'” Dave said. Dreyer, director of marketing at Starco Brands, said THR at the private event. “Honestly, he’s a great person who wants to do well with his fans.”
As for how she thinks her fans will enjoy the summer product? For Cardi B, the brand alignment (with her own personal brand) is clear.
“I feel like people can make different kinds of spirits, but I’m a light person, I like light spirits and I’m a mom so I can’t drink like a hardcore, I can’t do this anymore,” she said THR. “So I feel like it’s very sexy, it’s very fun – everything about me is fun. I wanted a product that was fun and just tasted good.