Butter began catching on as a pop-culture phenomenon in the early 2020s, attracting significant mainstream notice in 2025 and remaining top of mind in early 2026. The trend manifests itself in many ways. Flavored butters (from truffle and miso to cinnamon-sugar), and butter boards for mixing and serving them, are everywhere online (hashtag #ButterTok). There […]
Tag Archives | Crocs
Going Bananas—and Plantains
The global plantain chip market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.51% from 2025 to 2032, after an increase of 5.27% in 2025, according to Research and Markets. The increase is driven by two main factors. First, the chips are a good fit with rising consumer demand for better-for-you snacks. […]
On-The-Go Snack Storage
A popular feature of food-branded fashion drops over the past 18 months has been the integration of one or more fun-and-functional “snack pockets,” sized to fit whatever sweet or savory treat is at the center of the collaboration: In July of this year, Cheez-It paired with stylist Brittany Hampton and WNBA player Rickea Jackson for […]
Clomping Through an Era of Clog Collabs
Crocs announced a long-term license with the National Football League this week, marking the first time the league has partnered with the footwear brand. Branded shoes and Jibbitz charms for 14 teams will launch first, followed by products for the other 18 teams; other categories such as bags will roll out later. This is just […]
Language Learning Through Licensing
By Karen Raugust on January 2, 2025 in Celebrity, Character/Entertainment, Content, Digital, Education
Language-learning apps have been entering into promotional deals with licensed properties for close to a decade, with many of the partnerships having a content component. Properties involved tend to skew toward character/entertainment and celebrity IP, although there are other examples as well. For the language-learning platforms, such pairings spur sampling and potentially new subscriptions, while […]
Clothing Confections
By Karen Raugust on October 31, 2024 in Accessories, Corporate brands, Fashion, Food/Beverage, Licensing
Candy brands have long been participants in fashion collaborations, but they seem to be experiencing a particularly active period in this space these days. Designs tend to go all-in on prominently featuring the shapes, colors, mascots, and packaging associated with the IP, and the focus is largely—but not entirely—on accessories categories, in part because consumers […]
Feeling Blue
A number of recent licensed and collaborative products have taken denim—or at least its look and feel—into categories where it has not traditionally had much of a presence: Lingerie. Last week, American Eagle said it was pairing with sibling lingerie and casual apparel brand Aerie for the first time to launch a limited collection of […]
Grocery Store Chic
Grocery and convenience store chains are the latest group of corporate brands to get into limited-edition branded merchandise drops in a big way. The products seem to be resonating with loyal consumers and, in several cases, lending a cool factor to the brands among young adults. Recent examples include: Aldi. The value grocery retailer next […]
Best Foot Forward
Vans and Converse, not to mention Nike and its Jordan brand, Puma, Adidas, and the like, are among most active partners in the world of collaborations, as they try to feed the near-insatiable demand from sneaker collectors and other fans for new and unexpected designs. Less widely recognized on a mainstream scale, but still very […]
Heart Beat
Since today is Valentine’s Day, it seems like a good time to note the importance of the holiday as a launch date for new licensed and collaborative products, as well as an occasion for holiday-specific limited editions, collaborations, and promotions involving licensed IP. This is especially true for initiatives involving products that traditionally serve as […]