McDonald’s introduces Grimace-inspired purple shake and meal

McDonald’s is celebrating the birthday of one of their iconic characters by offering a special meal that comes with a brand-new treat.

In honor of the restaurant chain’s “purple fuzzy bestie” Grimace, McDonald’s has created a Grimace Birthday Meal and Grimace Birthday Shake, its first-ever purple milkshake.

The meal includes fries and your choice of either a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, plus the shake, which McDonald’s says is “inspired by Grimace’s iconic color and sweetness.” They do not say what flavor it is, so Simplemost went to McDonald’s to find out.

Though the company is advertising the shake as something that’s included in the meal, we were able to order a shake in any size without the meal, so if you just want the shake, this is worth trying at your local franchise, too.

And the taste test: The Grimace shake really does have a vibrant purple hue in person, and the flavor is a yummy and subtle blueberry with a hint of vanilla. Grimace should be proud of this birthday treat!

McDonald’s does not say how long the shake will be around, so you’ll want to order one soon to help celebrate Grimace’s special day. If you miss the shake, you can also help celebrate Grimace’s birthday with some merchandise like Grimace shirts, socks and even a giant pool float that measures 4.5 by 7.25 feet.

In other McDonald’s news, the company behind the popular Squishmallows stuffed toys announced it is partnering with the fast-food chain to create Happy Meal toys.

Jazwares says there will be 24 Squishmallows in Happy Meals across the country, with more than half of them also including a QR code that leads to a digital playlist made exclusively for that toy. The company did not say when the toys will be in Happy Meals, but does say each location will only have 10–12 of them, so you’ll want to hit up multiple McDonald’s if you’re looking to collect them all.

You’ll also find some new menu items at McDonald’s, including a McCafé Oreo Frappé and Frozen Hawaiian Punch.

The Frappé is technically a returning item but hasn’t been on the menu since 2015 and some reports say it now comes with a whole Oreo cookie on top and a spoon so you can treat it more like a dessert than a drink.

The Frozen Hawaiian Punch is completely new and resembles a slushy. McDonald’s says on its website that the refreshing drink is “bursting with over eight bold, tropical fruit flavors.”

What new treat are you looking forward to most from McDonald’s?