Mediaboss Marketing

Mar 17, 2022

Walmart has scored an exclusive deal on seven new flavors of ice cream from Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, including Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. The flavors will rotate at 3,500 U.S. locations over a 10-week period.

In July 2021, Kraft partnered with Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen to produce an ice cream version of its signature Macaroni & Cheese. The limited-edition variant led to loud objections from ice cream purists across social media, but the 6,000 pints sold out online within an hour.

The macaroni flavor returned in August in another limited-run, but the Walmart collaboration marks the first time the flavor is reaching stores. The other six ice cream flavors coming to Walmart over the 10-week run are Planet Earth, Pizza, Hot Honey, Royal Wedding Cake, Bourbon Cherries Jubilee and Wild Blueberry Shortcake.

This is the first exclusive rotation that Van Leeuwen is bringing to Walmart stores. It has plans to refresh the flavors later in the summer.

The collaboration takes a page from the drop culture trend pioneered in the streetwear category in the U.S. by Supreme and Nike. Hyped on social media, the limited-edition apparel and footwear releases often sell out immediately. Nordstrom, Macys and Target are among retailers known for their limited-time fashion capsules, but so far limited-edition exclusives have been a bigger sales opportunity in fashion than food.

Among other limited-edition collaborations between retailers and food/beverage brands:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Does Walmarts exclusive partnership with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream point to a bigger opportunity for grocers around limited-edition offerings? Why dont limited-edition exclusive products in grocery seem to resonate as much as fashion item drops?

"'Limited edition' as a strategic weapon and as a marketing tool is one of the most powerful assets available to a brand or retailer."

More here:
Will limited-edition exclusives become the next big thing in grocery? RetailWire - RetailWire