Van Leeuwen Ice Crream and Unreal Candy Launch a Sweet but not Sugary Summer Treat Collab

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (@vanleeuwenicecream) and Unreal Snacks (@unreal.snacks) have joined forces to offer Unreal’s low-sugar candy as toppings at Van Leeuwen ice cream shops across the country. The collaboration allows customers to enjoy Van Leeuwen’s beloved ice cream and Unreal’s candy as a healthier topping option. In August, Van Leeuwen partnered with the water brand Liquid Death (@liquiddeath) to launch a “hot fudge sundae” flavored sparkling water, described as “The first ever flavored sparkling water that tastes just like chugging a hot fudge sundae.”

Van Leeuwen, Unreal, and Liquid Death are utilizing one the most important growth levers for brands: the brand collaboration, or to put it in Gen Z terms, “the collab.”

When brands collaborate, they do more than create a cool product, they share communities of fans and lift each other up. In the CPG space, collaborations are becoming an increasingly important way to propel brand growth. 

As explained  by Scott Darrohn, the co-founder of Fishbat Media and a Forbes Council Member, “The main benefit of collaboration is the ability to be placed in front of your target market by a brand that has an engaged audience. This can help you instantly gain credibility for your company.” 

According to to Scott, brand collabs can achieve 4 main goals:

Increase consumer engagement –  By teaming up with other brands and influencers, companies can reach their target audience on a deeper level.

Expand into new markets – New partnerships help brands access new customer segments and markets that they have not previously reached.

Highlight authenticity – Collaborating with brands and influencers that align with your brand’s value propositions can strengthen a brand's authenticity.

Drive innovation – with new product offerings that combine the strengths and expertise of both partners. 

I agree with Mr. Darrohn’s points and would like to add several points of my own about the power of collabs. Brands are able to:

‍Claim Cultural Relevance –By aligning with current trends, engaging diverse audiences, creating authentic connections, leveraging cultural icons and moments, and telling meaningful stories, brands can remain relevant and top-of-mind in today’s multi-polar marketing landscape.

‍Create CTA and Sense of Urgency for a purchase –CPG brands have been successful when they use the street wear brand tactic of “limited drops.”  Selling a limited amount of a product in a collab creates a sense of urgency for shoppers. They must act fast to “secure the goods” and some of consumers’ blockers to purchasing  get removed.

There are Several brands that have crushed it recently with collabs that are worth highlighting as case studies.

First, TRUFF Hot Sauce (@sauce). TRUFF has used a wide range of collaborations with trending pop culture brands and actors, such as Hidden Valley Ranch (@hidden.valley),  Taco Bell (@tacobell), the streetwear brand Warren Lotas (@warrenlotas), and the Super Mario Brothers Movie (@supermariomovie), to elevate TRUFF from a pricey condiment to a lifestyle brand.  

As explained by Truff’s Co-Founder Nick Ajluni in an interview with Forbes on brand collaborations,

“Above all, authenticity is key. We never want to force a collaboration or put our name on something for the sake of it. Instead, we ask ourselves whether a collaboration can create a moment that resonates with consumers and inspires them to try our product. A recent example of this is our collaboration with Hidden Valley Ranch. By pairing their household name and beloved ranch dressing with our luxury hot sauce in a unique flavor profile and a magnum bottle, the collaboration broke the internet and sold out within minutes. We believe that the potency of that moment is what we're after, and we're not interested in collaborating with just anyone and everyone.” After its initial supercharged growth, Kim Kardashian’s private equity firm SKKY purchased a majority stake in TRUFF. 

Similarly, through Celebrity Smoothie collabs, Erewhon (@erewhon), a premium LA grocery store chain, elevated itself into a designer brand and style icon. As noted by Fast Company, in just one year, Erewhon made $10.6 million in revenue off a single smoothie: Hailey Bieber’s $20 Strawberry Skin Glaze smoothie. Further, Behind the collaborations lies a strong business model blending health and wellness, retail and the creator economy.  Erewhon’s strategy of designing smoothies with influencers and other collaborators include singer Olivia Rodrigo (@oliviarodrigo) and celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton (@chrisappleton1)—has supercharged Erewhon’s cultural status and scaled its business. The partnerships are mutually beneficial. Celebrities get a portion of their smoothie’s revenue while Erewhon benefits from the celebrities’ name-recognition and the purchases by the celebrities audience. 

The smoothie collabs’ success reflects one of Mighty Joy’s core theses about the evolving consumer landscape—community commerce. The relationships that drive purchases are between celebrities/creators and consumers rather than brands and consumers. Moreover, consumers have their own social communities and connect to these communities by posting about their smoothie choices. 

When examined through this framework, Erewhon’s smoothie collabs were genius. Consumers purchased smoothies to connect with their favorite celebrities. They then shared content about trying the smoothies with their own digital friends and followers, creating a stream of content linking back to Erewhon. For example, look at Rick Lox's review of Chris Appleton’s smoothie, which got 49k views.  Further, by rotating smoothies monthly, Erewhon creates a monthly occurring time sensitive call to action. 

Erewhon and TRUFF are examples of two types of collabs: brands and people. Whether or not you realize it, consumers love collaborations, and collabs are everywhere. Look at the Doritos Locos Taco, one of Taco Bell’s all time top products or Halo Top and ColourPop Cosmetics eyeshadow.  The #1 song in the United States today is currently “I Had Some Help,” a collaboration between pop star Post Malone (@postmalone) and country star Morgan Wallen. The combined support of both singers’ communities propelled the song to #1 on the top charts.

For the next generation of brands leveraging authentic collaboration with brands, celebrities and creators will be key to success. 

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