Snapple is a New York original, born in Brooklyn, raised in bodegas, and built on one simple belief: a drink should taste really good. While the beverage world chases wellness promises and inflated claims, Snapple has never been about trying too hard, following trends or feeding into the latest hype. It’s just the proudly-New York bodega pick-me-up, made for everyone, and part of the fabric of the city’s daily life.
So when Erewhon, the pretentious, LA-based wellness grocer famous for celebrity smoothies and functional elixirs, announced its juice bar opening in New York inside a members-only club, it struck a nerve. New Yorkers had thoughts. And Snapple had something to say.
The week of Erewhon’s NYC opening, Snapple took over a nearby deli, turning it into the ultimate juice bar: a Snapple bodega. Free and open to all. No memberships. No miracle claims. Just flavor-first refreshment, served the way New York always has.
Our objective was to make a timely, culturally relevant statement that reinforced Snapple’s anti-functional, pro-flavor point of view by showing up in culture through a real-time social clapback designed to create brand attention and excitement while driving a spike in social engagement and foot traffic to the bodega.
The hardest part of a reactive idea is planning for it. Snapple’s entire response to Erewhon’s NYC opening was designed to be social-first and ready to launch at a moment’s notice, without knowing exactly when that moment would come. Because of that uncertainty, flexibility became the strategy. Everything from our location to our content to our creators and launch date hinged on the ability to move quickly when cultural signals told us to act.
To determine the right moment to launch, we actively monitored online conversation, including Reddit threads and social comments. By identifying a potential date, we were able to make a call without full certainty, move fast, and turn the entire idea around within weeks, knowing we would only get one shot to respond while culture was paying attention. We took a calculated risk, and it paid off.
When the moment came, Snapple clapped back in a way designed to travel socially by taking over a nearby deli and turning it into the Snapple Bodega “juice bar,” open to all. While the IRL experience drew lines down the block from open to close, it was the social response that brought the moment to life, with the experience quickly becoming something people wanted to document and share.
With limited time, we prioritized the elements that would turn the IRL experience into something that could scale online. Every detail, from signage to product to merch and creator access, was designed to be easily captured and shared. Instead of shelves filled with drinks boasting unpronounceable ingredients, the space was stocked with free, flavor-filled Snapple served in its most iconic form, glass bottles, featuring commemorative five-borough packaging. Our anti-functional point of view came to life through branded streetwear that quickly spread through group chats and Stories, becoming must-have items almost immediately. That same thinking shaped our media approach. Rather than rely on a traditional out-of-home placement in a lower foot-traffic location, we pivoted to a mobile OOH truck that could take our message to the streets, be captured in social content, and drive people back to the Snapple Bodega. Instead of celebrities, we partnered with real NYC creators who could authentically help spread the word.
Over four days, the moment quickly scaled online as creators and Snapple brought the experience to social, generating 13 in-feed assets and 13 story frames across paid, owned, and shared placements that helped the Snapple Bodega shine across feeds and the For You Page. Content mirrored how the moment unfolded in real time. We teased the response by spoofing Erewhon’s well-known “coming to NYC” post, revealed the location and timing the day before launch, captured live content throughout the day, and extended the life of the moment after the bodega closed by amplifying UGC and recap footage with fans.
The Snapple Bodega Juice Bar did exactly what it was designed to do. It turned a real-time social clapback into a cultural moment that drove both participation in real life and a spike in social engagement online.
The Snapple Bodega had lines around the block all day as New Yorkers from all five boroughs flocked the deli for the chance to be a part of the clap back, with a 188% increase in deli foot traffic. And they had a thing or two to say about it: “The original juice bar!” “I don’t need anything fancy, just need a good Snapple.” “This is New York right here!”
On social, the moment scaled quickly and organically, driving up social shares by 6,100% above average and engagement 2,100% above average compared to Snapple’s typical social content. TikTok became a go-to space for co-creation as creators and locals documented the experience in real time and brought the moment back to their audiences in their own unique ways.
Most importantly, Snapple owned the conversation in the days leading up to Erewhon’s NYC opening. During that period, Snapple generated 197% more mentions than the conversation around Erewhon NYC’s opening week, effectively stealing the show before their doors even opened.
All proving that New Yorkers don’t want another expensive miracle drink from LA, they just want the New York native that tastes really good!
