Five ways CPG brands are turning distinctive assets into culture, conversation and earned media | Left Hand Agency CPG High Five
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
At first glance, Cheetos workwear, Trader Joe's tote bags, a Fly By Jing sweatshirt, and a Wildwonder Mahjong set do not have much in common. One is a snack brand, one is a grocery retailer, one sells chili crisp and one makes sparkling functional beverages.
But they are all doing the same thing: not merely selling merchandise, but creating conversation.
Some of the smartest CPG brands are discovering that fashion and lifestyle products can be powerful earned-media engines. The best executions transform distinctive brand assets into objects consumers genuinely want to wear, carry, display, or play with. In the process, they reactivate existing fans, reach new audiences and keep brands culturally relevant in ways traditional advertising alone cannot.
1. Distinctive Assets Make the Best Fashion
The strongest fashion executions do not simply place a logo on a hoodie. They translate the brand's most recognizable assets into something consumers understand immediately, even without reading the label.
Cheetos has repeatedly leaned into orange, messiness, irreverence, and Chester Cheetah's personality through fashion. The result works because it feels unapologetically Cheetos: partly hideous, partly fabulous and completely on brand.
Heinz x Kate Spade turned ketchup packets, bottles and Heinz red into 'condiment couture,' while SPAM has translated its instantly recognizable blue-and-yellow can into apparel, socks, earrings and even flannel pants.
The lesson is not that every food brand needs apparel. It is that the best lifestyle extensions are unmistakably the brand. If the distinctive assets are not strong enough to travel beyond the package, the merchandise probably will not either.
2. The Best Merch Builds Out the Brand's World
The smartest brands are not asking, 'What swag should we make?' They’re asking, 'If our brand were a lifestyle, what would naturally exist in that world?'
Wildwonder's Mahjong Party Pack is a great example. It taps into renewed momentum around Mahjong while paying homage to founder Rosa Li's Chinese heritage and her grandmother's favorite game. The set does more than place a logo on a product; it invites consumers into a social ritual that feels authentic to the founder and the brand. Wildwonder has even extended the idea into a Wild Mahjong Tour with lessons, drinks, and limited-edition merchandise.
Fly By Jing's 'Thanks Very Much' sweatshirt became a cult item after Kristen Bell wore it in Nobody Wants This. I know because I bought one and had to wait for it to come back in stock. It is adorable, but more importantly, it carries the same wit and personality as the brand itself.
Fishwife has built a full visual world around tinned seafood through colorful apparel and accessories. Its recent limited-edition Whole Foods x Fishwife tote collection took that aesthetic into the grocery aisle and made the bag feel closer to a band T-shirt than a reusable tote.
The goal isn’t to make merch, it’s to give consumers another way to participate in the brand.
3. Scarcity Turns Merchandise Into a Talker
Scarcity and uniqueness are key ingredients in these activations, especially when high-p
rofile adoption gives the product a cultural push.
Trader Joe's mini canvas totes are the clearest grocery example. A $2.99 bag became a viral object, generated long lines, and appeared on resale platforms for hundreds of dollars. Trader Joe's didn’t need a major paid campaign; consumers and media created the momentum.
Fly By Jing benefited from celebrity visibility and limited availability, while Fishwife's limited-edition merch frequently uses artist partnerships and out-of-stock waitlists to turn food-brand apparel into a collectible.
Scarcity doesn't create brand love. A product nobody wants doesn’t become culturally relevant because only 100 were made. Scarcity amplifies brand love that already exists, creating urgency and giving fans a reason to talk right now.
4. Collaborations Either Borrow Equity or Amplify It
There are two strategic reasons to pursue a brand collaboration, and they require different execution.
Borrow equity. A smaller or emerging brand partners with a stronger or more culturally established brand to accelerate awareness and create associations it could not build as quickly alone. The smaller brand may have less awareness, but it still needs a strong identity or the collaboration will be memorable only for the larger partner.
Whole Foods x Fishwife is a clean example: Fishwife gets reach and retail credibility, while Whole Foods gains the cultural energy and design-forward identity of a buzzy younger brand. Heinz x Kate Spade similarly lets each partner borrow from the other's strengths: Heinz brings mass recognition and distinctive assets; Kate Spade brings fashion authority.
Amplify equity. A strong brand uses merchandise or a collaboration to reactivate superfans, generate word of mouth, and introduce itself to new audiences through those fans.
Cheetos, Trader Joe's, and Kirkland Signature (see #5) all begin with broad awareness and affection. The activation gives existing fans a fresh reason to be loud, and those fans become the media channel that carries the brand to everyone else.
Both approaches can work. The mistake is treating every collaboration as if it has the same job.
5. The Best Merchandise Becomes a Cultural Signal
People don’t always wear food-brand merchandise simply to say, 'I like this product.' Often they’re signaling, 'I am part of this culture.'
Kirkland Signature apparel captures that perfectly. Kirkland pants and sweatshirts are a little dorky, but that is part of the appeal. They’re ironic and iconic at the same time because so many of us secretly love Costco.
Trader Joe's totes signal a particular kind of grocery-store fluency. Fly By Jing signals taste, humor and familiarity with a culturally fluent food brand. Wildwonder's Mahjong set goes further by creating a shared experience through play, heritage, and hospitality.
That’s different from traditional branded apparel, which can feel promotional. These objects work because consumers see themselves in them. The brand becomes a badge, an inside joke, or a way to signal cultural awareness.
Final Thought
The biggest mistake marketers can make is assuming these activations are primarily about selling sweatshirts, tote bags, or Mahjong sets. They’re not, they’re about creating stories.
Existing fans create the initial excitement. Scarcity and unexpected execution encourage sharing. Earned media amplifies the moment. New audiences discover the brand through conversations that advertising alone cannot buy.
Word of mouth from friends remains one of the most trusted paths to brand adoption, and these activations give superfans something new to talk about long after the original product launch has gone quiet.
The best collaborations do not build clothing businesses. They build cultural relevance.
Honorable Mentions
Crocs x Pringles - an intentionally ridiculous mash-up that still fits both brands.
Hidden Valley Ranch x Burt's Bees - unexpected enough to earn attention, but rooted in recognizable flavors and assets.
Heinz x Herschel - ketchup packets translated into limited-edition luggage.
We are Left Hand Agency, a CPG media buying agency helping brands grow with short and long-term strategies. Our memory-driven approaches deliver results your marketing and finance teams will champion.
