Starbucks Japan x Pokémon: Pikachu Honey Cream Latte and 41 items from September 30

• The campaign centers on the Pikachu Honey Cream Latte and a 41-item merchandise collection.
• The latte was chosen from more than 700 submissions and costs about 690 yen in Tall size.

What happened

Starbucks Japan has announced a new collaboration with Pokémon for stores in Japan. The release combines a special drink with a large merchandise drop, including tumblers, mugs, aprons, bags, and gift cards. According to reports, the lineup includes more than 40 products, while the collection is also described in the same context as a set of 41 items. Starbucks has named several product categories, but has not fully broken down which items will be available everywhere.

The standout item is the Pikachu Honey Cream Latte. According to reports, the recipe was selected through a nationwide contest with more than 700 entries. The winning submission came from Junko Nitta, who works at Starbucks Coffee Koriyama Asaka. That makes the drink not just a themed Pokémon release, but also a recipe chosen through an internal Starbucks Japan competition.

The latte is served with honey and caramel, topped with honey-flavored whipped cream and red heart sprinkles. Starbucks Japan is selling the drink only in Tall size for about 690 yen, or roughly US$4.34. The price and size are more clearly confirmed than the exact sales window, as reports differ on how long it will be available.

The merchandise collection includes 41 items. Starbucks mentions drinkware, clothing, and accessories, and select items are also expected to be available through the Starbucks Japan online store. It is still unclear whether all 41 products will be sold both online and in stores. Reports do say that part of the collection will appear online, but not that every item will be offered through every sales channel.

For now, the collaboration has only been announced for Japan. There is no confirmation that the Pikachu Honey Cream Latte or the 41-item collection will be released outside Japan. That makes this a Japan-exclusive campaign for the time being, with a clear start date but still some open questions about how the merchandise will be distributed.

Background

The collaboration has only been announced for Japan so far. There is no confirmation that the Pikachu Honey Cream Latte or the 41-item collection will be released outside Japan. Reports explicitly note that there is still no word on availability in other countries, so international release plans are not confirmed at this time.

The available information also leaves open whether the latte will be available for exactly nine days. Some reports mention a window from September 30 to October 8, but the strongest confirmation in the reporting is the September 30, 2026 launch date and the roughly 690 yen price for a Tall size. That makes the launch date the most certain detail, while the end date should be treated as less certain for now.

Details on the merchandise are also still incomplete. Starbucks refers to a collection of 41 items and mentions drinkware, clothing, accessories, and gift cards, but it has not been confirmed that all 41 products will be available in stores and online at the same time. Reports only say that select items will be sold through the Starbucks Japan online store. That means distribution may vary by product, and the full set will not automatically appear in every channel.

The campaign fits into the broader Pokémon attention around 2026, but this announcement is specifically about Starbucks Japan, Pokémon, and the latte submitted by Junko Nitta. The combination of a contest-winning drink, a fixed launch date, and a large merchandise drop makes this one of the clearest Japanese brand campaigns in the reporting around this period.

Related GAME-scanner articles

• Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration: Kotaku sees most top cards under $100 on September 24, 2026

Sources

• IGN: Starbucks Japan x Pokémon collaboration announced