Here's a piece I've wanted to write for a few months and am just getting to it. (Yeah, it's been a bit busy around here.) But this past July I had the opportunity to drink both a Dunkin' Donuts smoothie (my wife had a free coupon) and a Costco smoothie (a semi-regular purchase for us) on the same day. I recorded my thoughts of the items as well as costs, etc. and thought the shopping-savvy readers here at Free Money Finance would like to see a comparison. Here goes:
- Dunkin' Donuts - We had the 16 oz. Strawberry Banana Smoothie (they also have Mango and Wildberry.) The product was a combination milk/yogurt and fruit based item versus the "regular" smoothies you often find which are more fruit/ice concoctions. The taste was "ok" (I'd give it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10) but the item was very pricey. If we hadn't had the free coupon, the item would have set us back $3.49. Ouch! While that price may look good compared to a Starbucks drink, it's a bit steep for the smoothie category (in my opinion.)
- Costco - The Costco Berry Smoothie (they also have a Mocha/Latte Freeze) was also 16 oz. and was more of a traditional fruit/ice smoothie. Not only was it great-tasting (I'd give it an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10), but at $1.35 for 16 oz., you can have two and a half of them for what one of the Dunkin' Donuts smoothies cost.
So this one is a blowout -- Costco wins hands down. It's the same size and both tastes better and is way less expensive. No contest here. My recommendation: Skip the Dunkin' Donuts Smoothie and pick up a couple at Costco instead.
The Mango smoothie is leagues above the other DD flavors, and a good stand-in for a mango lassi if you don't get to any good Indian restaurants frequently.
Posted by: cory | September 28, 2006 at 02:47 PM