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What is the Fluffy Seagull latte — the viral summer drink taking over Cape Cod?
Hour-long lines are forming in Yarmouth over an iced latte that combines Fluff and peanut butter syrup.
A line outside a business is pretty customary come summertime in Cape Cod, but one Yarmouth cafe is seeing a flock of customers daily from before opening to closing for a now viral drink: The Fluffy Seagull latte.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Pantry began offering the iced coffee drink — made with espresso, a milk of choice, peanut butter syrup, and Massachusetts’ famous Fluff — in 2023, said owner Kelly O’Connell. It was popular then, but it wasn’t until a few TikTok posts circulated online around Memorial Day weekend of this year that the Fluffy Seagull got its wings.
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“It’s a Wednesday, and the line is wrapped down the street,” O’Connell said. “It’s hilarious.”
@lighthousekeeperspantry What did everyone want this weekend? A fluffy seagull, or 4, that’s what! Thank you to everyone who waited in line for an hour this weekend for their lattes, mermaid pop tarts and breakfast Sammie’s! We’re so humbled by your dedication to standing in this line! Xoxo🥰 #smallbusiness #capecod #summer #viral #capecodlife #capecodimages #capecodsummer #capecodfoodies ♬ 1901 – Instrumental – Phoenix
It started with reviews on TikTok, with customers like @natalieebrownnn and @gretchengeraghty sharing their thoughts on the drink of the summer.
It’s easy to see why the drink would take off on social media — it has the aesthetics for online, O’Connell said, made to look like seagull feathers with the white fluff spread around the inside of the cup.
She also thinks nostalgia is at play here. The drink is inspired by the Fluffernutter sandwich, the 20th-century New England sandwich made with Fluff and peanut butter and especially enjoyed by children.
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Now the drink has gone beyond the Yarmouth shop and is being made at home and in other cafes across the country, as can be seen in dozens of videos across TikTok.
O’Connell decided to copyright the name of the drink “just to protect the business.”
Still, there’s no place like the original cafe to make an order, clearly the thought of dozens of customers who start lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. to get their cup of fluffy coffee goodness. Lighthouse Keeper’s Pantry opens at 7 a.m.
And the line never ends, O’Connell said, until they close at 5 p.m. On social media, users have commented claiming they’ve stood in line for an hour and a half just for the iced coffee.
By the numbers, O’Connell said they sell around 400 Fluffy Seagull lattes daily.
“We go through an insane amount of Fluff,” said O’Connell, who estimated that 40 pounds of the marshmallow creme is used every day.
O’Connell, who grew up in Yarmouth but spent most of her professional career working in marketing and brand development in New York City, moved back home during the COVID-19 pandemic and started a gourmet food business Greg Bilezikian. They sell goods like cocktail mixes, jams, and hot sauce.
The cafe came after she had developed the gourmet food business as a way for customers to sample those goods on prepared foods like sandwiches and in drinks.
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O’Connell has had to expand her team since the virality of the drink, hiring six more workers this summer. They’ve also capitalized on the moment, creating a Fluffy Seagull ice cream sandwich, while a similarly-flavored scone is in the works. And don’t forget the Fluffy Penguin, the winter sibling to the Seagull, a seasonal drink that pairs peppermint mocha with Fluff.
“I don’t think this is a moment in time,” O’Connell said. “I think it will have long-lasting legs for the business, which is exciting.”
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