If you didn’t already know, McDonald’s is celebrating its 50th birthday in the UK this year.
As part of the celebrations there’s already been a limited-edition menu launch with the Double Big Mac, a birthday doughnut and Milkybar McFlurry, and some retro decorations were put up in restaurants.
But the fast food chain might have saved the best birthday treat for last, as they’ve just revealed that an iconic US menu item is going to be available in the UK for one week.
Yes, that’s right folks… the Grimace Shake is coming!
The viral purple drink will be sold in restaurants nationwide from August 28 to September 3.
There’s been much speculation about the flavour of the colourful treat, but Maccies UK says it features a blueberry flavoured syrup which is blended with a creamy milkshake base to create the ‘perfect purple combination’.
The drink will cost £2.69 for a medium shake and £2.99 for a large, and can be purchased in restaurants, through the McDonald’s app, at the drive-thru or via McDelivery.
Super fans who can’t wait to try the rare menu item can get a sneaky preview early on Monday, August 26 by heading down to Box Park Shoreditch between 12pm and 6pm. The chain will be giving out samples at a pop=up event, but once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The Grimace Shake was first launched in America in June 2023 and was available for a month to celebrate the 52nd birthday of the chain’s purple character, Grimace.
Its launch quickly spawned a bizarre TikTok trend, with people filming themselves pretending to collapse after taking a sip of the drink. As such, many social media users now refer to it as ‘the infamous Grimace Shake’.
The trend is thought to have started because the character of Grimace was originally introduced in 1971 in McDonaldland as a villain known as ‘Evil Grimace’ who liked to steal milkshakes.
However, the ‘evil’ part of his name was dropped in 1972 and he was reintrduced as a clumsy but friendly monster. The McDonald’s Twitter account posted in 2014 that according to Grimace lore he’s ‘the emobdiement of a milkshake or a taste bud’.
A number of famous faces took to social media to share their thoughts on the milkshake after it was released, including Friends star Courteney Cox. She shared a parody video, which joked that her dog had tried the drink and it turned the pooch into a ginormous purple creature.
As well as the milkshake a few other fan-favourites will be joining the menu once more next month, including the Philly Cheese Stack and the Chicken Big Mac.
The former first launched in October 2023, but left the menu at the end of November, with fans saying Christmas was ‘ruined’ because of it.
The burger features two beef patties, cheese sauce, two cheese slices as well as grilled and crispy onions and pickles in a toasted bun.
Online, @_elliottxo said: ‘That Philly Cheese Stack is the best limited-edition burger McDonald’s have ever done.’ While @rednuoPdnuorG described it as ‘sensational’.
@HoodieUce said: ‘That new Philly Cheese Stack from McDonald’s might genuinely be the nicest fast food burger I’ve ever tasted.’
The burger was said to be so good, that a petition was even launched for its return last year, by a change.org user known as Naomi Campbell. She said the Philly Cheese Stack as ‘incredible’ and confessed she was ‘devastated’ to lose it.
McDonald’s menu changes every six weeks, with the last change coming into force from July 17, so it’s likely we should expect to see these burgers, plus a few other new and returning products back in UK restaurants and on the app very soon.
The fast food chain also recently announced its Monopoly game would be coming back from September 4, with exciting prizes up for grabs, including £100,000 cash, new cars, and holidays.
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
