Good morning. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Today’s letter is a bit product heavy so if you’re just here for some witty writing, maybe skip this one. If you like food, read on.
Collabs
Only a few of these are actually food. A lot of brands have been teaming up with brands in hard goods (beauty brands, kitchen and homewares, clothing) to expand their offering to include something they couldn’t have produced on their own. It’s a way to expand brand awareness and reach new customers that otherwise may not have come across your product. Brands are getting increasingly creative with this, so here’s a few favorites I’ve seen lately.
🍾S. Martinelli & Co. and McConnel’s Ice Cream
For the second year in a row, the two brands teamed up on a Martinelli’s Apple Cider & Cranberry Jam flavor of ice cream for thanksgiving. If I wasn’t traveling for the holidays, this would be my contribution to the dessert table.
🌵Vacation and Arizona Iced Tea
The brand behind the sunscreen that every influencer posted poolside this summer teamed up with Arizona Iced Tea for three flavors of chapstick. A good match considering Vacation’s brand identity is very retro and we all feel nostalgia for the iconic 99 cent cans of sweet tea.
The beauty brand and the better-for-you cookie dough brand partnered for a dual product launch of chesnut lip gloss (with a hint of cookie butter) and cookie butter with edible glitter. While Glossier also just launched a cookie butter lip balm dotcom, this is a pretty clever way for a brand partnership to double dip.
The trendy olive oil brand Graza teamed up with home textiles and clothing brand Dusen Dusen to make oven mitts. Pretty cute but not sure I could ever spend $50 on something I know I’ll burn, stain and never wash.
🐟Fishwife x Fredericks and Mae
The iconic tinned fish company partnered with design studio / homewares brand Fredericks and Mae on an adorable cutting board and utensil set meant to serve Fishwife’s products. Cute.
In celebration of their fifth year anniversary, apoptogenic drink brand Recess collaborated with celebrity chef Jordan Rondel aka The Caker on a strawberry rose birthday cake kit. Honestly, I haven’t made anyone a birthday cake in so long that I forgot how fun it is to make a boxed cake mix cake. Catch me in the Whole Foods baking aisle this week.
🥦Incredibles and Magnolia Bakery
The New York based bakery partnered with edible sweets company Incredibles on infused chocolate inspired by Magnolia’s World-Famous Banana Pudding and Red Velvet cake. This takes sugar high to a whole new level. But get this. Magnolia Bakery’s cult following is primarily in New York but the edibles will only be sold in Illinois, Nevada and Massachusetts since New York fumbled the cannabis legalization process. Woops.
Holiday Gift Launches
With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away (what!?), queue the holiday campaigns. I’ve rounded up a few fun gifts that have been popping up on my feed lately.
Other brands are hopping on this edible glitter trend. Kendall Jenner’s tequila brand 818 launched Glitter Bombs, non-alcholic puffs of cotton candy with edible glitter inside. They’re made to be plopped into an espresso martini to make it shimmer.
Sustainably-sourced spice brand Diaspora launched Hot Cocoa for the first time. But don’t let the price steer you away because the brand prices based on their equity pledge. They prioritize building relationships with small, multi-generational farms in India by paying over three times the average commodity price for their cacao. Check out this fun map to show where each spice comes from!
🍸Ghia Stemless Martini Glasses
LOOK. HOW. CUTE. Unfortunately, I will not be purchasing because my partner has put me on a glassware ban. It’s not my fault the thrift stores have the cutest colored vintage glassware!!! I’m literally losing money if I don’t buy the $5 smokey coupe!
The candy company made special edition candy canes and gum drops to celebrate Elf’s 20th anniversary (feel old yet?).
🥛Milk Bar and Got Milk? Holiday Milk Collection
The gift set comes with three flavors of cookies and three milk mixes: Apple Cider Donut, Sugar Cookie, and Pumpkin Cinnamon. Fun fact, Milk Bar’s founder Christina Tosi was previously a pastry chef for David Chang’s Momofuku. It was there that she first started experimenting with cereal milk desserts which are now the foundation of her whole brand.
That’s all for today. Have a lovely Monday!