It's been another weird week in retail. Goldfish and Frank's RedHot teamed up for a hot sauce flavored snack, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's stepped up their shoe game and McDonald's will offer K-pop group BTS' favorite meal.
This, and more, in this week's retail therapy.
Goldfish partners with Frank's RedHot to launch limited-edition hot sauce flavor
As summer approaches, it's time to bring in the heat. And your afternoon snack is no exception.
The popular Goldfish snack is spicing things up with the limited-edition hot sauce flavor in collaboration with Frank's RedHot, according to a press release Tuesday.
Janda Lukin, chief marketing officer of Campbell Snacks said the company launched the spicy Goldfish snacks to appease the appetite of its adult fans.
"'Hot' is the #1 most requested Goldfish flavor across social, so we wanted to bring the heat with an unexpected partnership between Goldfish and Frank's that fans will love," Lukin said.
You asked, and we heard you! Introducing our NEW Goldfish @FranksRedHot crackers! In stores soon. pic.twitter.com/bNCoZNsQ9e
— Goldfish® (@GoldfishSmiles) April 27, 2021
Fans who entered the company's giveaway on April 27 could grab a bag before it hits shelves at their local retail stores. The giveaway ended Thursday.
For fans that didn't get to enter, worry not. The new Goldfish Frank's RedHot snacks will be available for purchase starting this May while supplies last for $2.49 for each 6.6 oz bag.
Hardee's and Carl's Jr. work alongside The Shoe Surgeon for custom kicks
Some new sneakers just dropped, and it's not even from a retailer.
Two fast-food chains run and operated by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Hardee's and Carl's Jr., partnered with sneaker designer Dominic Ciambrone, also known as The Shoe Surgeon, for custom-made sneakers dubbed Angus Kicks, according to a press release.
Ciambrone and the burger joints produced the sneakers to celebrate the launch of the Steakhouse Angus Thickburger. This was The Shoe Surgeon's first time teaming up with a burger brand.
"I grew up on Carl's Jr., so working with these brands on our first-ever burger collaboration brought me back to my childhood," Ciambrone said in a statement. "I had a lot of fun drawing inspiration from the upgraded Steakhouse Angus Thickburger for these shoes."
The sneakers will be raffled off to two fans. Unfortunately, raffle tickets are no longer available. Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Carl's Jr. and Hardee's yearly fundraising campaign for military organizations called Stars for Heroes.
Custom footwear seems to be a popular merch for many non-retail brands recently. Earlier this year, Zabar's and Vans also teamed up to produce some Zabar's inspired slip-ons. Late last year, communication platform Slack also released its own footwear collection.
The BTS Meal kicks off at McDonald's
Soon an army of K-pop fans might flood your local McDonald's.
McDonald's will be debuting the BTS Meal at participating chains throughout the U.S. on May 26, according to a press release from McDonald's last week. The fast food chain's collaboration with the South Korean boy band will be available in almost 50 markets worldwide.
"The band has great memories with McDonald's. We're excited about this collaboration and can't wait to share the BTS Meal with the world," said BIGHIT MUSIC, label of BTS.
The band's signature order features 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries, medium Coke and sweet chili and Cajun dipping sauces (available for the first time in the U.S.), which draws inspiration from McDonald's South Korea.
Coming this May: The BTS Meal pic.twitter.com/iarw2gYMsx
— McDonald's⁷ (@McDonalds) April 19, 2021
The announcement certainly made a buzz on social media. When McDonald's posted about the collab last week on its Twitter account, it drew the attention of thousands of BTS stans, otherwise known as Army. The post had over 275,000 retweets and 607,000 likes at the time of publication.
And that's how you tap into a loyal fanbase.
