Brand Collaboration Strategy: 5 High-Impact Collabs and What Marketers Can Learn | Left Hand Agency CPG High Five
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
Brand collaborations are having a moment. But most brands still treat them like PR stunts instead of growth levers, when in reality, a strong brand collaboration strategy can unlock scalable growth across audiences, retail, and media.
The best ones do three things:
Unlock new audiences
Borrow trust
Create retail and media momentum
Here are five recent collabs that actually did that well and what other brands can learn from them.
Then, read on to learn how these brand collaborations typically come together. With brand teams busier than ever - it’s a careful dance!
1. Carbone x Houseplant
What it is
Carbone Fine Food partnered with Seth Rogen’s cannabis lifestyle brand Houseplant on a limited-edition “Italian Collection” featuring a co-branded marinara sauce.
Carbone brings premium, restaurant-quality Italian food credibility.
Houseplant brings the cool cache of Millennial icon Seth Rogan, design-forward cannabis culture and a built-in entertainment audience.
The overlap isn’t immediately obvious until you drill down into the core of what each brand is offering—refined, upscale at-home experiences. Houseplant brings the design and Carbone brings the taste. I’m sold!
For a partnership like this it means creating hype and a vibe that people want to buy into.
What each brand gets
Carbone gets:
Cultural relevance outside of food
Access to a younger, lifestyle-driven audience
A reason to show up in social and PR beyond “premium sauce”
Houseplant gets:
Legitimacy beyond cannabis accessories
Entry into consumable CPG (food + beverage adjacency)
A more elevated, culinary positioning vs. novelty cannabis brands
What it is
Pepsi partnered with Vacation, the sunscreen and personal care brand known for its retro aesthetic, to launch a limited-edition Wild Cherry Pepsi–flavored lip gloss. This collab is built on shared brand DNA more than shared category.
Both Wild Cherry Pepsi and Vacation lean heavily into nostalgia and summer vibes. Their ads evoke the Cindy Crawford era of the 80s.
Vacation has built a rapidly growing brand built around “leisure as a product.”Pepsi has decades of equity in flavor and pop culture but needs a bit more relevance with younger consumers.
The lip gloss becomes a physical expression of a feeling people already associate with both brands. This isn’t random. It’s tightly aligned on tone.
What each brand gets
Pepsi gets:
A fresh, unexpected way to make the product experiential
Relevance with younger, beauty-adjacent audiences (and Vacation has a lot of cultural momentum)
Social-first content that extends beyond traditional beverage marketing
Vacation gets:
Massive brand exposure by tapping into a legacy brand
Instant recognizability through a known flavor
Credibility boost by partnering with a household name
Entry into a new category beyond traditional sunscreen
What it is
Hidden Valley Ranch partnered with Cheez-It. The brands launched a limited-edition Cheez-It flavor dusted with ranch seasoning bringing one of the most iconic condiment flavors into the cracker aisle. I’m VERY here for this. We have a smoker and we actually smoke Cheez-Its once a year and toss them in BBQ and ranch seasoning and it’s seriously the crack-cocaine of crackers. (So good we only make it… one time a year). So: this collab is bound to be amazing.
Why it works
People already:
Put ranch on everything
Pair ranch with crunchy snacks
Associate both brands with indulgent, craveable flavor
This isn’t introducing a new idea. It’s formalizing an existing behavior. And it’s not the first collab for Cheez-It. I had a brief obsession with their Tabasco collab many years back.
What each brand gets
Cheez-It gets:
A new flavor with built-in demand
Incremental excitement in a mature category
A reason for shoppers to re-engage
Hidden Valley gets:
Entry into a new aisle (snacks)
More consumption occasions beyond dressing/dips
Reinforcement as a flavor brand, not just a condiment
4. Portland Bee Balm x pFriem (Hazy IPA Balm)
What it is
Portland Bee Balm partnered with Oregon-based brewery pFriem to launch a Hazy IPA–inspired lip balm blending a strong craft beer culture with natural personal care. I live in Portland and had to highlight this because it shows you don’t have to be a major brand to find a way to execute a cool collab.
Both are Pacific Northwest brands and appeal to:
Ingredient-conscious consumers
Craft and artisanal buyers
People who value local, independent brands
The overlap here is real. These brands likely have very similar consumers!
And the IPA angle works because it’s:
Familiar (Hazy IPA is a dominant craft style especially in Oregon)
Sensory (aroma, flavor cues translate well to balm)
Culturally relevant to those in the PNW who are obsessed with hops (seriously, it’s a thing)
What each brand gets
Portland Bee Balm gets:
Access to pFriem’s loyal, local fan base
A differentiated product story in a crowded natural balm category
More reasons for in-store placement and gifting
pFriem gets:
Extension of brand into lifestyle and merchandise
Incremental revenue without brewing more beer
Deeper engagement with fans beyond the taproom or shelf
5. Pop-Tarts x Liquid Death
What it is
Pop-Tarts teamed up with Liquid Death to create a limited-edition iced tea inspired by Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts pairing a nostalgic snack with a beverage leader for the first time. If you follow Liquid Death at all you know they are pros at brand collabs and have built this kind of activation into the brands’ identity. I would not be surprised if other brands are knocking on their door constantly with offers!
Why it works
This is a category expansion disguised as a collab.
Pop-Tarts has massive flavor equity (and nostalgia) but is locked in the breakfast/snack aisle.Liquid Death has built a brand around making beverages feel disruptive and culturally loud.
Together, they turn a familiar flavor into a new consumption occasion.
This isn’t just fun. It’s strategic:
Nostalgia drives trial
Beverage unlocks frequency
Liquid Death makes it feel culturally relevant instead of gimmicky
What each brand gets
Pop-Tarts gets:
Entry into a new aisle without building a beverage brand from scratch
Increased consumption occasions beyond breakfast/snacking and a reminder of that sweet treat that was an 80’s breakfast staple (now the moms and dads with purchasing power)
A way to modernize the brand with younger consumers
Liquid Death gets:
Access to a massive, recognizable flavor IP
Broader appeal beyond its core edgy audience
Another proof point that it can stretch into new formats (tea vs. water)
For brands looking to execute a brand collaboration it can take time to iron out the details but there are also significant reasons to move quickly as virality and brand relevance with growing brands can diminish quickly. Let’s take a dive at the ways brand collabs come together and the questions that come up in the process:
How Brand Collaboration Strategy Actually Come Together
1. It usually starts with a conversation, not a contract
Sometimes it’s a founder DM. Sometimes it’s through a shared investor, retailer, or agency partner.
The best partnerships often start because:
The brands already admire each other
There’s a natural product or audience crossover
Someone sees a moment they can jump on quickly
This part can happen fast. Days to a couple of weeks.
2. The real work is in vetting the fit
This is where smart brands pump the brakes a bit.
They’re asking:
Do our audiences actually overlap or complement each other?
Does this elevate or dilute our brand?
Will retailers care?
Is there a real distribution or media angle, or just a social post?
For CPG specifically, this step is critical. A collab that doesn’t translate to shelf or conversion is just noise.
This phase can take a few weeks depending on complexity.
3. Defining the “win” for both sides
This is where collabs can fall apart. If one brand is getting awareness and the other is doing all the work, it doesn’t last.
Strong partnerships are clear on:
Who owns what
How revenue (if any) is split
What success looks like (sales, reach, retail expansion, etc.)
4. Execution is where it gets real
Now you’re into:
Product development (if applicable)
Packaging and compliance
Retail conversations
Launch planning (PR, paid, social, retail media)
This is the longest part. Typically 2–6 months depending on complexity.
5. The best collabs are built for amplification, not just launch
This is the biggest miss.
Winning brands plan for:
Paid media support
Retail media integration
Influencer or creator layering
In-store or PDP storytelling
The collab isn’t the moment. The amplification is.
Brand collaborations aren’t new. But the role they play in growth is evolving.
The ones that work aren’t random. They’re strategic, mutually beneficial, and built to drive more than just attention.
They drive trial, distribution, and momentum.
Have a favorite brand collab that caught your eye? Send us a note and we may feature it in an upcoming CPG High Five.
Hi! We’re Left Hand Agency. We help CPG brands build growth strategies that win today and scale tomorrow across retail, media, and measurement.
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