For most people, SunnyD is synonymous with sticky fingers and childhood birthday parties. It’s something they probably haven’t thought about much since elementary school lunch.
When the beverage brand launched a limited-edition line of streetwear on Sept. 29, however, it wasn’t concerned about most people. It made the merchandise for an eager group of young shoppers willing to do whatever it takes to secure a branded hat or pompom beanie.
“Some fans have even gone so far as to say they’d get a SunnyD tattoo or bathe in a tub of SunnyD if it meant they could get their hands on a hoodie,” Abby Porada, SunnyD’s brand manager, told Adweek.
Porada noted the brand receives on average more than 100 DMs per week from individuals begging for SunnyD apparel.
Brands feel pressure to earn a presence in the lives of a generation numb to traditional advertising. They are exploring unconventional avenues, and brand merchandise is one of them. Other recent examples include a cookie-shaped belt bag from Dunkaroos, a meat sandwich-themed Hawaiian shirt from Arby’s and a swimsuit with the word “Soup” printed on it from Panera Bread.
Although there’s nothing new about a brand making an article of clothing—Budweiser has been selling shirts for decades—the age of product unboxings on TikTok, specialty item sales on Shopify and hyped Supreme-style merch drops is unlike anything that’s come before. And companies want in.
Adweek interviewed a dozen industry insiders to get a better sense of why brands are hopping on the merchandise bandwagon and where, exactly, they hope it’s taking them.
Marketing material
The first factor propelling the trend is perhaps the most obvious: It’s an attempt to get shoppers to stop and look. A Cheez-It fanny pack? An Oscar Mayer tracksuit? More than just an additional source of revenue for parent companies Kellogg’s and Kraft Heinz, these items can make people notice a particular brand when there’s a near-limitless number of shows, websites and video games to get lost in.
“Attention is scarce,” said Allison Finazzo, senior brand director of coconut water brand Vita Coco. “We have to constantly raise the bar and find more creative ways to connect with our consumers.”
On Sept. 2—World Coconut Day—Vita Coco debuted its own capsule collection. Items include a tropical-themed bandana, backpack and reversible bucket hat.
“For us, it’s really all about marketing and generating excitement around our brand,” said Liz Bazner, senior director of marketing at A&W Restaurants, which recently began selling products ranging from a $25 baseball shirt to a $715 pair of boots—all priced at cost.
A brand’s clothing line can also help broadcast its values.
Chipotle, for instance, has introduced new apparel dyed with a portion of the 300 million avocado pits its restaurants go through each year. Each one-of-a-kind piece from the collection requires five avocado pits to make, according to the company.
The brand’s merchandise, produced via its avocado upcycling program, therefore aids in amplifying Chipotle’s message of cultivating a better world.
Stephanie Perdue, vp of marketing at Chipotle Mexican Grill, said because the space is more crowded than ever it’s essential for the chain to “emphasize the purposeful mission of our apparel to differentiate ourselves from other brands.”
In a similar manner, Vita Coco announced all proceeds from its collection will go toward supporting coconut farmers in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Fostering fan clubs
The average consumer likely isn’t interested in spending $20 on Pizza Hut’s gold necklace featuring a slice-shaped pendant bejeweled with pepperoni, and that’s OK.
“It’s not going to be for everyone,” said Victoria Anderson, vp of cultural strategy and communications at creative agency 160over90. Instead, Anderson advised, “brands have to find a way to focus on micro, niche communities and connect with smaller groups.”
In other words, if a brand wants to generate genuine buzz in a creator economy, it must appeal to individuals who have more than a functional relationship with its goods or services. This is essentially what SunnyD did with its streetwear. Now, the brand’s diehard fans have the opportunity to represent the orange drink “beyond social media and into the real world,” said Porada.
When people started inquiring about purchasing the red checkered tracksuit actor Craig Robinson wears in Pizza Hut’s “Newstalgia” campaign, the company introduced a collection titled Pizza Hut Tastewear. In addition to the tracksuit, it includes a T-shirt, slides and the aforementioned necklace.
“Fans asked, and Pizza Hut has answered,” said chief marketing officer Lindsay Morgan, who added it’s a “marketer’s dream when elements from our work show up in culture.”
“Even if this merch isn’t flying off the shelf,” Anderson explained, “it’s still tapping into that need for fans to express their advocacy for something and feel like they’re part of this loyal community.”
Aligning with fashion and culture
A bag of crackers or bowl of soup can’t really signal a brand is attuned to style—it’s a better fit for clothing. Rather than just pasting a logo onto a T-shirt, brands are using fashion trends to display a certain self-awareness and ironic outlook to consumers.
Campbell’s Goldfish crackers, for example, partnered with JNCO, leader of the wide-legged denim craze in the ’90s, to bring a limited-edition line of jet black Goldfish Jalapeño Popper jeans to market. Why? In part, because “’90s nostalgia is incredibly popular right now, particularly with younger consumers,” said Janda Lukin, CMO of Campbell Snacks.
Likewise, cookie maker Dunkaroos is also leaning into the decade of Tamagotchi, Spice Girls and The Lion King with its merchandise.
“Everything we do with the Dunkaroos brand is to provide millennials with the carefree moments they had when they were kids in the ’90s,” said Taylor Roseberry, a brand manager at parent company General Mills.
Much of this is silly, yet also serious. According to Anderson, the brand merchandise phenomenon is latching onto a “counter movement to what is traditionally seen as fashionable or beautiful.” The consumers who buy into it are redefining what’s cool to them. In a sense, Anderson added, these shoppers are striving to be “more real.”
When asked to comment on Panera Bread’s Swim Soup Collection, which includes a one piece sporting a broccoli-and-cheddar pattern and a pool float shaped like a bread bowl, Drayton Martin, Panera’s vp of brand building, said the line provides people with an opportunity to be playful and witty.
“It’s not trying to be high fashion,” she said, “but it’s definitely high expression.”
