Erewhon Releases a Toothpaste-Inspired Mint Smoothie

Drinking something sweet immediately after brushing your teeth with minty toothpaste might seem like a nightmare to most people, but luxury health food chain Erewhon is betting that its latest smoothie could change your mind about this unexpected flavor combination. 

The California-based grocer’s new smoothie collaboration delivers a treat we’d never considered before: a toothpaste-flavored smoothie. Erewhon partnered with oral care brand Boka to create the Mint Condition Smile Smoothie, a mint-infused beverage that’s rolling out at Erewhon cafe counters starting today. 

While the concept might seem off-putting at first, Boka’s team argues that you should give it a chance. “Yes, a smoothie inspired by toothpaste might sound unusual, but that’s what made it so fun to create,” Kinsey Butler, Boka’s senior director of brand marketing, tells Food & Wine. “Our goal was to capture that bright, clean sensation you get from brushing with our Ela Mint toothpaste and translate it into a smoothie people would actually enjoy.”

Spirulina provides the blue-green color you expect from minty toothpaste, while blended banana, coconut, and mango deliver a smoothie-like texture and layers of fruity sweetness. Butler notes that Boka worked alongside Erewhon’s team through multiple rounds of testing to reach the perfect taste, color, and consistency. 

In addition to the fruits you’d expect in a smoothie, this drink does include actual mint. The ingredients list features organic citrus green tea, organic coconut milk, organic mint, organic mango, organic banana, organic coconut cream, organic chlorophyll, organic blue spirulina, organic cacao nibs, organic coconut flakes, silica, and xylitol. When listed together, it genuinely sounds refreshing and delicious.

The toothpaste brand that makes up one half of the partnership is already known for offering innovative products, such as its signature fluoride-free toothpaste. “Delivering the unexpected is part of our DNA. One of the things our customers love most is our focus on flavor,” Boka general manager Sarah Mitchell explains. “Our products are elevated, natural, and fun, never clinical or boring.” 

The brand offers less-common toothpaste flavors like Lemon Lavender and Coco Ginger, both of which sound like they might make good smoothies, too. 

At $11 for a 12-ounce smoothie, this offering is less expensive than Erewhon’s famously pricey 20-ounce smoothies, which often hover around $19 or $20. 

Similar to the store’s “sunscreen smoothie” collaboration this summer, Boka’s smoothie is available free of charge to Erewhon loyalty members for the first two weeks. The drink will be on the supermarket’s menu through the end of November, so get it while you can.

If you’re on the fence about a mint and fruit fusion, at least this offering won’t cost you an entire $20 to try. And considering that mint and frozen cocktails aren’t an uncommon pairing, perhaps we might be clamoring for more minty smoothies soon.