Freakshakes – an Australian invention – found their way from Canberra to Newcastle (the English one) last year, and they have been multiplying around the UK at a horrendous rate ever since.
Given the speed with which the milkshake became popular and seeing that many other coffee shops were adopting similar concepts, they decided to buy the rights to the word “Freakshake” to prevent others from doing so and to acquire its popularity.
They are milkshakes topped with cream, topped with cake, topped with sauce, with a handful of sweets thrown in for good measure – a monstrous mashup of a drink and dessert.
Mason jar mugs are filled with milkshake and piled up with goodies that look as striking as possible – because, while they should taste good, the first bite is usually taken by the camera.
They originated in a small café in Canberra, Australia, called Pâtissez. Apparently, this little place went from selling 20 milkshakes a week to 200 the next day, according to sales manager Lewis Williams.
Freakshakes were created by the owner of the shop, Anna Petridis, and became a worldwide trend. Apparently she was working to innovate and create some new and different shakes. She came up with the idea of combining several concoctions into one, resulting in these ice-cream milkshakes.
After making them, Anna posted a photo on social media of the 4 milkshakes she had just made. It was from that moment on that everyone had a crush on them and the desire to consume them arose.
Some media and social media profiles such as BuzzFeed, MTV America, Good Morning America and the Today Show, spread the word about Anna’s creation. After her milkshakes went viral, they were not prepared for all the people who filled the small café, but they still tried to give the best possible service and meet the needs of their customers.
Due to their success and popularity, they opened two more shops in Singapore and Malaysia. And, it seems, another one was opened in Bangkok.
Currently, there are more than 13,000 photos on Instagram tagged with #freakshake, from the Unicorn Freakshake to the Death by Chocolate variety. In fact, the freakshake has inspired an entire trend with many restaurants and cafes taking it further. The ‘freakaccino,’ for example, is a freakshake with a shot of espresso added to it. There are also different options for different tastes, including the vegan freakshake, which uses plant milks and vegan ice creams.