Corporate food and restaurant brands have been jumping on the bandwagon—along with properties of all sorts—when it comes to collaborating on limited-edition wine varieties. In the most recent cases, the flavors of the branded foods are infused into the wine itself, usually in a subtle manner that is intended to taste good but is attention-getting […]
Archive | Corporate brands
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Car, motorcycle, and consumer truck brands represent one of the most significant areas of corporate licensing in terms of sales levels, with almost all mainstream brands having established programs in place. Other vehicle-related trademarks—from boat, train, and airplane brands to camper and commercial tractor-trailer labels—are in the mix as well. A handful of recent agency […]
Getting More Mileage from Car Care Brands
Last week, VP Racing Fuels, a marketer of performance fuels, lubricants, and additives, and its agency Pacific Swell Brands promoted a deal with Mattel calling for the VP Racing IP to be featured on Hot Wheels cars. The first product to highlight the brand will be the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which races in the […]
Offbeat Treats
The trend for bizarre flavor combinations has extended into the ice cream space. This includes limited-edition novelties created through partnerships pairing corporate owners of food brands with smaller specialty ice cream marketers known for their unusual flavors: The latest iteration involves Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, a brand of the Kraft Heinz Company, in a collaboration […]
Shoe Business
With both sneaker collaborations and corporate novelty merchandise programs ubiquitous and still on the rise, is it any wonder that we’re seeing an explosion of offbeat corporate-branded shoes on the market? Products announced lately involve properties that are frequent participants in licensing and collaborations, as well as those that are new to the game. Many […]
Beauty Competition
The beauty segment has been one of the most active for inbound licensing and especially collaboration deals over the past several years, with the pace picking up during the pandemic. The category is seen as a prime opportunity for celebrities, classic characters, films and TV series, museums, corporate brands, and IP from virtually every other […]
Competitive Advantage
Thanks at least in part to the rise in board games’ popularity during the pandemic, corporate and fashion marketers have gravitated to this category. Several have recently created limited-edition board game releases as a means to promote their brands: Vivetta Ponti, an emerging Italian designer, paired with Mattel’s new collaborations platform, Mattel Creations, for a […]
Eating Out, At Home
The challenges faced by restaurants during COVID-19, especially those that do not have strong take-out, curbside, or delivery infrastructures in place, have been well-documented. Perhaps that is why there has been a flurry of announcements about new retail brand extensions—most often in the form of licensing deals—into the food and beverage category in the past […]
A Weapon in the Chicken Sandwich Wars
Quick-service restaurants specializing in fried chicken, not to mention other fast-food chains including hamburger, taco, and pizza specialists, have introduced chicken sandwiches to great fanfare over the past couple of years, leading to the current so-called “chicken sandwich wars.” Experts trace the start of the war to a skirmish between an early Popeyes sandwich and […]
Gig-Economy Opportunities
The use of so-called “gig economy” businesses, such as food-delivery providers, ride-hailing services, and online travel-rental marketplaces, has been increasing significantly over the past several years, with use of food-delivery brands growing even more exponentially during COVID-19. The rising popularity of this business model has led to a more competitive landscape and a need for […]