Food and beverage-related brands have represented one of the key sectors involved in e-sports promotions over the past year and a half, partnering with e-sports teams and organizations for live events, streamed content, and sometimes merchandise sales or giveaways. Some examples: E-sports organization FaZe Clan paired with General Mills’ Totino’s brand to create special flavors […]
Archive | Food/Beverage
Cheers To Canned Cocktail Collaborations
Licensors across property types have made their presence known across most categories of alcoholic beverage by this point, whether that be beer; wine; spirits including vodka, tequila, and whiskey; or hard seltzer. The hottest category for collaboration of late has been ready-to-drink cocktails, with a range of examples coming to market since January of this […]
Spicing Up Food and Beverage Licensing
Spice and seasoning brands historically have played a relatively small part on the large and still growing food-and-beverage licensing stage, with some long-time exceptions (such as McCormick’s Old Bay brand). More recently, however, a growing number of players in this space have entered the field as licensors and/or licensees, some of them very actively. In […]
An Appetite for Regional Restaurants
Restaurant properties have been among the most active in the corporate licensing space of late, as they partner for brand extensions, lifestyle collaborations, and novelty items for fans. For the most part, these are national (or international) chains with multiple locations and a high profile among mainstream consumers. Occasionally over the years, however, local or […]
New Territory for Chef-Based Licensing
Recent deals for frozen and packaged foods have centered on chefs who hail from Africa, or have African roots, and are known for the African influences in their cooking and/or for promoting African flavors and recipes. Chefs of West African heritage have been particularly active. Such celebrity chefs, recognized from their TV appearances, cookbooks, and/or […]
Tempting Treats
Cereal marketers’ increasing tendency to extend their brands into other food categories was noted here more than two years ago, but the trend has continued to intensify since then. Sales of these licensors’ core cereal product spiked during the early pandemic, but have since leveled off, due to a number of factors. They range from […]
The Next Stage of Plant-Based Growth
Most of the licensing and collaboration activity in the growing plant-based food sector to date has involved celebrity-connected vegan meal kits and extensions of existing partnerships into the vegan and vegetarian space (e.g. Breyers adding an almond milk ice cream to its licensed Oreo line). As the plant-based food industry grows, the role of licensing […]
A Month for Mocktails
Each year, more consumers give “Dry January” a try, pledging to avoid alcoholic beverages for the month. Their reasons are varied: to start the new year on the right foot from a wellness perspective, to see how they feel when they drink less, or to cut calories as they begin a new diet. Many sober-curious […]
Flavorful Pairings and Pours
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 […]
A Home for the Holidays
Gingerbread kits are a perennial category for the holidays each year. Most of the products feature pre-baked cookie pieces in the proper sizes and shapes, as well as frosting, candies for decoration, accessories such as paper character figures, and everything else needed to make a finished gingerbread house or other structure for display. A variety […]