Why Costco's Kirkland Mango Smoothie Was A Total Flop

Innovation always comes with the potential for failure. Over the years, Costco's food court has championed an overall impressive risk-reward axis, delivering mostly rippers among a few scattered skippers. (We've rounded up eight discontinued Costco food court items we don't miss at all, if you're craving a trip down memory lane.) One such skipper was the mango smoothie.

The mango smoothie first hit food courts in June 2023 – a summer-appropriate flavor that debuted in the Australian circuit before expanding to Hawaii warehouses and finally Costcos in Oklahoma, California, and Washington. According to a TikTok by @costcobuys, Costco's mango smoothie packed four servings of fruit and "no added sugar, additives, or preservatives" for a price tag of $2.99. That's notably a killer price for a large smoothie that size ... or, it would be, if it tasted good. Alas, to many fans, the smoothie was a total flop. 

The TikTok's abysmal comments section reads, "It's a nope!! Tasted like carrots," "Tried it yesterday. I didn't like it at all and I love mango," and "Love you Costco but that is just plain disgusting." An overwhelming number of turned-off testimonials likened both the taste and texture to baby food. Elsewhere online, a Reddit thread dedicated to Costco's food court mango smoothie describes "a tamarind flavor that heavily overpowers the mango." Other Redditors theorize that the "off" flavor is the result of using overripe, turned mangoes: "Like overripe to the point of the fruit is starting to brown and taste sickly sweet and off."

Another Reddit post about Costco's mango smoothie echoes this theory: "It does have a somewhat strange/strong flavor, it tastes kinda like overripe mangoes." Foodies seem to agree, "Probably made from stock that couldn't be sold as whole fruit so there's likely a lot of overripe or bruised fruit used in the mix." Whether any factual merit to these hypotheses remains to be seen, one thing is certain: A lot of shoppers weren't digging it. Part of the product's backlash was that, at the time of its debut, the mango smoothie replaced Costco's berry smoothie on the food court menu. Fans of the berry smoothie might have come down extra hard on their fallen fave's orange-hued, lackluster successor. 

Still, not everyone hated the mango smoothie. California-based food blogger Claire Aucella (and self-professed fanatic of Costco's berry smoothie) posted an overall positive review of the divisive sipper. "I wouldn't describe the flavor as a tropical mango flavor (don't expect pina colada vibes), but more of an apple-y, sweet/tart mango flavor," writes Aucella. "I also found the new mango smoothie to be much more filling than the berry smoothie." Revered TikTok foodie account @costcohotfinds also gave the smoothie a positive review. Whether you loved the mango smoothie, hated it, or don't even remember it, we have 12 Costco food court hacks you should know to help guide foodies into clearer waters. For the record, we're loving the chicken bake.