Iconic food and beverage brands are partnering with other existing consumer packaged goods to create fun, unexpected cross-promotions. Ice cream, craft brews, beauty, and scented candle collaborations are the latest innovations to hit the market and excite consumers.
ICE CREAM GOES OFF THE DEEP END
Savory ice cream continues to trend with odd collaborations and surprising flavors. Van Leeuwen is no stranger to unique collaborations. For example, inspired by Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery movie, Van Leeuwen has collaborated on a limited-edition Glass Onion ice cream flavor made of vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt, pineapple honeycomb, and bourbon onion jam. Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing has a hold on people and it’s no surprise the brand teamed up with Van Leeuwen on a Hidden Valley Ranch savory and sweet limited-edition ice cream flavor. It is described as “savory flavors of ranch, buttermilk, flavorful herbs, and a touch of sweetness.” The Idaho Potato Commission wanted in on the action and partnered with Van Leeuwen to create a limited-edition Idaho Potato Malted Milkshake & Fries French Ice Cream, which featured a malted milkshake-flavored ice cream with French fry bites. Salt & Straw is a creative ice cream company known for its unique flavors and collaborations. A recent launch is the Hoppers Caramelized Roti with Bone Marrow Fudge ice cream with a toasted coconut base in partnership with Hoppers’ restaurant in London. Häagen-Dazs collaborated with renowned pastry chef, Pierre Hermé, famous for macarons, on a new summer ice cream range. The three variants are Double Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry and Raspberry, and Yuzu and Lemon. For the third time, California creamery McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams partnered with Garrison Brothers Distillery for a limited-edition Garrison Brothers Whiskey & Pecan Pralines ice cream. The flavor contains small batch bourbon, milk, cream, and salt-roasted pecans coated with caramel.
WHAT’S BREWING?
Just like ice cream, brewers are teaming up with food and beverage brands to create exclusive, unpredictable flavors. Southern Tier Brewing Company and Perry’s Ice Cream created the Vanilla Scoop Imperial Ale with an 8.6% ABV. Earlier in the year, Hormel® chili and Minneapolis-based Modist Brewing Co. co-created the Hormel® Chili Cheese Brew, “a sippable beer inspired by the dippable chili cheese dip.” Suped Up is a collaboration between Altherltic Brewing and Super Coffee. The non-alcoholic beer is brewed with high-quality coffee and spent brewer’s grains and contains 5 grams of protein. It has “distinct roasty and chocolatey notes with a pop of bold coffee flavor.” Stony Creek Brewery and Bigelow Tea created two tea-infused-beers: No Comment and Carpe Tea-em. No Comment “is a German-style lager that features Bigelow’s Constant Comment blend of black tea, orange peel, and sweet spices. Carpe Tea-em “is a complex Hefeweizen bursting with the aroma and flavor of bright citrus bergamot fruit delivered by Bigelow’s Earl Grey Tea.” Not a brewed beverage, but a notable partnership is Absolut Vodka and Heinz. Inspired by a spicy vodka pasta recipe, the two iconic brands developed the Heinz x Absolut Vodka Pasta Sauce in the UK.
THE BEAUTY OF COLLABORATIONS
Fashion and entertainment brands are forming partnerships with beauty and cosmetic brands to create limited-edition bath, make up, skin care, and nail care launches. Based on the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Lush Cosmetics and Nintendo 2023 introduced the limited-edition Lush x Super Mario Bros. collection. The line features Bowser Shower Jelly, Gold Coin Soap, Luigi Shower Gel, Mario Shower Gel, Princes Peach Body Spray and Shower Jelly, and a 2-in-1 Bath Bomb Question Block. E.L.F. Cosmetics often collaborates with food and beverage brands. The latest partnership is with fashion brand American Eagle. Blue Jean Baby! is a Denim-Inspired Makeup and Skin Care Line offered in three products: Denim Daze Eyeshadow Palette, Get Cheeky Clay Mask, and Perfect pHIT Lip Balm. These three items can be purchased together in the Beauty is in Your Jeans Vault, which is packaged in a denim-made carry-all bag made with American Eagle’s signature fabric. Women’s lifestyle brand LoveShackFancy joined forces with imPRESS Press-On Nails. The LoveShackFancy x imPRESS Press-On Manicure collection is “inspired by the enchanting and romantic floral prints from LoveShackFancy’s Spring 2023 Collection.” The six press-on manicures include Blushing Lavender (classic pinky-nude nails with lavender accents), Citrus Candy (flowery pink and white ombré nails with glitter accents), Hydrangea Blue (flowery blue French design with matching accent nails), Lilac Crush (flowery purple, pink and blue ombré nails with rhinestone accents), Rosie Peach Sky (flowery pink nails with reflective chrome accent nails), and Sunkissed Peach (flowery pink and purple ombré nails with silver accents).
FOOD & BEVERAGE INSPIRED CANDLES
Food and beverages continue to inspire scented candles with an assortment of olfactive directions. Vlasic Pickles has teamed up with Candier by Ryan Porter to create a limited-edition candle that looks and smells like a classic jar of Vlasic pickles. The D.S. & Durga x Jupiter Pasta Water candle is a collaboration with the Italian New York restaurant Jupiter. The description reads “the candle captures an unexpected aromatic experience – the scent of boiling water cooking pasta with top notes of saline water along with semolina wheat heart notes and base notes kept a chef’s secret.” Alternative alcohol beverage brand Kin Euphorics partnered with Boy Smells on the Cosmic Collisions collection. It is available in three scents: Restart candle (citrus rind, mint, and fresh ginger), Drop Out candle (chamomile, lavender, and sage), and Turn On candle (carrot seed, citrus, and vetiver). Homesick created a FRIENDS candle inspired by the group’s favorite haunt, the Central Perk café with notes of espresso, coffee, brick, caramel, steamed milk, vanilla bean, mocha, sugar cane, and heavy cream.
Some cross-promotions make more sense than others. However, regardless of the taste or smell of the products, these collaborations are attention-grabbing and capture consumer interest. Watch as more consumer packaged goods brands join forces on creative flavor and scent interpretations in a variety of applications such as ice cream, brewed beverages, beauty products, and candles.
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