Coco Gauff posing with her Coco Gauff’s Protein Pineapple Orange Smoothie.
Naked Smoothies
Coco Gauff made waves simply by eating fruit on court during her 2023 U.S. Open championship run. One summer later Gauff signed a deal with Naked Smoothies, and now she’s partnered with the brand to launch her first signature flavor, the Coco Gauff’s Protein Pineapple Orange Smoothie.
“Fruit has always been my go-to snack on and off the court,” Gauff says. “Creating my first smoothie as Naked’s Chief Smoothie Officer was such a fun, rewarding process. It’s packed with flavors I love and a variety of benefits, so I don’t have to sacrifice taste when choosing my snack. I’m really excited for people to try it.”
The smoothie, made from real pineapple and orange juices, electrolytes from coconut water and vitamins B6 and B12 has no added sugar. To celebrate it all, Naked is launching Coco’s Corner Store, a pop-up at 21 Spring St. in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. The design is inspired by bodega culture and is open Aug. 21 and Aug. 22. Naked is also distributing limited bottles of the signature smoothie, “hidden at participating Albertsons stores nationwide” through Sept. 14.
Tina Lambert, chief marketing officer at Tropicana Brands Group, says that Gauff has proven a powerhouse both on the court and in in every sense of taste, “especially as our Chief Smoothie Officer.”
Coco Gauff with a new signature smoothie from Naked Smoothies.
Naked Smoothies
The new smoothie is also a shift for the brand, looking to refresh its smoothie line this fall with reformulated products. “Coco’s signature smoothie captures her essence and reflects the direction Naked is headed, delivering nutrient-dense, convenient, satisfying snacks,” Lambert says. “We’re proud to be building Naked’s next chapter with an incredible partner like Coco.”
“For me, the reason I like fruit on court, being a tennis player and playing long matches, I like to have sugar on court,” Gauff told me following her Roland Garros doubles championship and during preparation for Wimbledon in 2024. “Fruit has always been the fastest way to do that. I constantly try to take a couple of bites of fruit.”
As a self-proclaimed “old-school” lover of natural fruit over energy gels and various other products (she does consume electrolytes during matches), adding fruit in smoothie form was meant to “make my life earlier.”
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Pineapple has always been one of her favorites. Last year, she said that if she came out with a signature drink, pineapple would play a key role.
The growing partnership with Naked Smoothie fits into her business mantra of focusing on long-term value. She says her goal is to enlarge partnerships, striving to gain equity in brands so it doesn’t feel like a transaction and instead something that she can invest in and stay in for any future children or grandchildren. “I am trying to maximize as much as possible when doing partnerships like this,” she says. “Tennis is the number-one priority, and it is crucial to work with brands who recognize that and work with that. They know tennis is what I love and what I do and everything else is an added plus.”
But when tennis and fruit collide, Gauff’s making smoothies. And pineapple is the star of her first foray into signature smoothies.