What Erewhon's Zara Larsson smoothie costs brands and how the Malala Fund tie-in works
Erewhon's Midnight Sun smoothie with Zara Larsson runs to 7 November 2026, with proceeds going to the Malala Fund. No donation percentage has been announced.
On 8 October 2026, Erewhon began selling a smoothie made with Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson. The drink is called Midnight Sun, after her latest album, and it is pink and purple in colour. It is sold until 7 November 2026.
The drink is part of a celebrity program that the California-based grocer began in 2021. The program uses named partners, paying ingredient brands and a paid membership. The collaboration is tied to the Malala Fund, but no donation percentage or amount has been announced.
How a 2021 influencer drink grew into a celebrity program
Erewhon's celebrity drinks began in 2021 with influencers Christina Najjar, known as Tinx, and Marianna Hewitt, co-founder of Summer Fridays, according to Marketing Brew. Hailey Bieber's co-branded Strawberry Glaze Skin smoothie, which promoted the launch of Rhode Skin in 2022, kickstarted the celebrity smoothie craze.
Later partners have included Sofia Richie Grainge, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Bella Hadid and Emma Chamberlain. Larsson, a Swedish pop singer, is now on that list as well.
Vito Antoci, Erewhon's executive vice president, said the chain does no marketing of its own beyond social media posts about its drinks, according to Marketing Brew. Boka's Kinsey Butler referred to the chain's 10 stores in LA.
How brands pay to join the drinks
Each celebrity recipe can carry up to five brands that pay to appear in its ingredient list, according to Vito Antoci, as reported by Marketing Brew. Other brands, including Salt & Stone, Vacation and Frankies Bikinis, create and, Antoci said, fully fund their own drinks.
Marketing Brew's examples show what a brand can receive. Salt & Stone's Salt & Serve Smoothie, sold in October 2024, was the brand's first edible venture. It drove more than 4 million impressions from influencer and user-generated content and lifted sales of its body products. As of Marketing Brew's December 2025 report, the brand was Erewhon's No. 1 body brand, and another smoothie for 2026 was in discussion.
Not every partner benefits from sales. Kinsey Butler of Boka called its arrangement a 'pay-to-play situation' and said Boka sees none of the proceeds from its drink. Boka's December 2025 membership drink, the Mint Condition Smile Smoothie, cost $11 for nonmembers. For some members, each order also comes with a travel-sized tube of Ela Mint toothpaste.
About 60,000 people pay up to $200 a year for perks, including a free branded drink each month and each quarter. Brands cover the cost of membership drinks distributed during the first two weeks of the month. Antoci said there are 16 branded drinks a year, which paying nonmembers can also buy.
A brand must sell its products in Erewhon stores to create a membership drink. Brands can pitch ideas in October, when next year's drink decisions are made, and some brands are approached by Erewhon instead.
What is in the Midnight Sun smoothie, and where it is sold
A release from ROAR Organic, one of the drink's ingredient brands, dated 8 October 2026, lists ROAR Organic Dragon Fruit Punch, MALK Organic Coconut Milk, The Fruitist Organic Jumbo Blueberries, Eidon Silica, Cowboy Vanilla Colostrum and GROW Organic Banana. It says the drink includes other ingredients without naming them. The release quotes two ROAR executives, its head of marketing and its president and chief executive.
Elite Daily counts 19 ingredients in its review, including Erewhon organic A2 whey protein, grassfed collagen, organic blue majik spirulina, lion's mane and cordyceps. Minute Mirror lists coconut milk, blueberries, bananas, whey protein, strawberries, pineapple, mango, coconut water, carrot juice and vanilla.
The sources differ on where the drink is sold. The ROAR release names all Southern California Erewhon locations and a Manhattan tonic bar, with the New York version available through Uber Eats or Postmates. Elite Daily says all Erewhon tonic bars except the LACMA location. Minute Mirror says most locations, through the Erewhon mobile app, plus New York through Uber Eats and Postmates.
Elite Daily gives the price as $21. The ROAR release does not state a price. Elite Daily's reviewer, Rachel Chapman, wrote the review on 9 October and rated the drink 5 out of 5. She described the taste as tart and creamy at once, compared the layered pink, yellow and blue colours to a sunset, and asked Erewhon to make it a permanent menu item.
“No donation percentage or amount has been announced for the Midnight Sun smoothie.”
How the Malala Fund tie-in is structured
Minute Mirror reports that the proceeds go to the Malala Fund. The ROAR release says the collaboration supports the fund. No donation percentage or amount has been announced for the Midnight Sun smoothie.
The ROAR release describes the fund as founded by Malala Yousafzai and her father, with the aim of advancing every girl's right to 12 years of free, safe and quality education. The fund's own website says it is working for a world in which every girl can learn and choose her own future.
The website's 'Where we work' list names six countries: Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania.
Minute Mirror lists commitments, including $3 million to restore girls' education in Afghanistan and Rs95 million in grants to education organisations in Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It also reports that Taliban-led restrictions block girls in Afghanistan from secondary and higher education, and lists $100,000 in September 2025 to support refugees from Gaza in Egypt. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the fund worked with local partners to provide free transport for students across 10 districts.
How the Midnight Sun deal combines its parts
The Midnight Sun drink combines several parts: a named artist, an album tie-in, ingredient brands, and a charity link. The donation share is the figure missing from this drink.
Brands pay to be in the recipe, members pay for the membership that comes with branded drinks, and the Malala Fund is named as the recipient of the proceeds.
Marketing Brew reports that Erewhon has more than 650,000 Instagram and TikTok followers. It also reports that Erewhon was reportedly selling more than 40,000 Hailey Bieber smoothies a month at one point. Erewhon approached Jolie Skin Co about its Spring of Youth elixir, and more than 15,000 units sold in April, the month it was on sale. Arjan Singh, the brand's co-founder, noted that Jolie's sales are higher at Erewhon than at larger retailers and said the relationship is 'punching way above its weight.'
Kith Ivy in New York began selling $25 Erewhon smoothies, which Marketing Brew says made Erewhon's smoothies bicoastal. The sources place sales of the drink in Los Angeles and New York.
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