Stouffer's Is the Latest Food Brand to Launch a Whole Merchandise Line

By Brendan Menapace

If you are a food service company, whether that’s fast food, pre-made dinners or a traditional sit-down restaurant, you are now much more than that. You’re also now a marketing company. At least, if the trend of heavy promotional marketing and merchandise lines is any indication.

At the beginning of the pandemic, restaurants were turning to merchandise lines to help recoup losses from indoor dining. But we also saw fast food brands like McDonald’s go above and beyond their traditional kids’ meal toys, and the companies that typically stocked the grocery store aisles went big on their own branded products.

Remember when Avocados from Mexico parodied the Home Shopping Network and made things like a tiara? Or how about how Chipotle has been leading the charge for environmentally friendly apparel with dye made from avocado pits as part of its huge online store?

Stouffer’s is now the latest big food brand to launch a full merchandise line, touching on current trends like fanny packs and “Live. Laugh. Love.” memes.

❤ this tweet to be the first to know when Stouffer’s NEW merch store launches on November 17th! pic.twitter.com/QdSFLaWYFs

— Stouffer’s (@stouffers) October 23, 2020

The store isn’t open yet, but Stouffer’s is already advertising a holiday line around the corner.

Good morning ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gJJELXy7mO

— Stouffer’s (@stouffers) November 6, 2020

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Food brands need to be much more than just food providers. Really, that applies to any business. There’s always room for more merchandising and brand awareness. If you can tie in a good social media campaign where people are sharing photos, then it’s even sweeter.

Also, in the absence of events, companies look to e-commerce solution to get their promotional products into the hands of customers and potential customers.

Shifting to e-commerce sales was enough to keep the WWE at a similar revenue standpoint as the previous year, even without allowing fans into events. And places with in-store staff that wear uniforms could want company stores to allow for different uniform options.

The trend is continuing, but there are plenty of brands still left to join. Those could be potential customers just waiting for the right distributor.