You know how, at the end of every year, brands release those trend reports that outline what the hottest flavors and ingredients are supposed to be in the year ahead? Yeah, we absolutely love those, but we’re starting to realize that they’re about as reliable at predicting food trends as putting a quarter into one of those Zoltar Fortune Teller Machines and actually expecting him to give you solid cosmic advice. Not that they’re wrong, they just don’t do a great job at predicting the weird and wacky food collabs that have come to define the 2020s. Van Leeuwen x Kraft Mac and Cheese ice cream, anyone?
It’s a growing phenomenon for food brands to ditch the expected and completely reposition themselves in front of an entirely new audience by way of infusing unexpected flavors or collabing with another brand that feels totally out of left field. Kind of like the polarizing French’s Mustard x Skittles collab that some people surprisingly liked. We’ve dubbed this era the Wacky Tacky Food Era, and this summer, things are getting even weirder.
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BTS Oreos
As far as fandoms go, it’s hard to quantify just how large the BTS Army is. Of course, Oreo has a relatively equal-sized fandom, so it makes sense that two icons would team up to release a limited-edition flavor that honestly should be added to Oreo’s permanent lineup. The Oreo BTS cookie swaps out the classic chocolate Oreo cookie for a vibrant purple version with 13 different embossments that BTS fans are bound to love. It also features a brown sugar pancake creme filling in place of the original, and that’s honestly all the info we needed. Be sure to sign up for the presale to be notified as soon as these drop.
Minions Mustard
Whoever was on the team that brought Minions and French’s Mustard together honestly deserves a raise. Although the partnership is more of a branded collab to promote the upcoming Minions & Monsters film than an actual flavor collab, it’s probably one of the smartest examples of product placement we’ve seen in a long time. In addition to the classic yellow, the brand is also launching a limited-time green mustard alongside it to keep the dastardly antics going. Fortunately, it isn’t some crazy stunt like infusing ghost pepper into select bottles and watching chaos ensue—although that would be pretty on brand for the Minions.
Miller Lite Pringles
Although it’s common for our typical Friday debrief to involve an ice-cold brewski and a can (or two) of Pringles as a snack, we never thought about the two actually melding together to become some brand new frankenflavor, but here we are. Following up on last year’s collab between Miller Lite and Pringles, the two are at it again, this time with Beer Cheese Burger and Beer-Braised Steak flavors. We’re cautiously optimistic about this one, but if it’s too hard to swallow, at the very least, you can wash it down with a cold one.
Bush’s Baked Beans
Baked beans have never really needed an upgrade, if you ask yours truly, but we can see how they might be a good vehicle to experiment with flavor. What we definitely didn’t expect was to get three flavors that sound like they’re straight out of a mad scientist’s fever dream. Bush’s Baked Beans recently dropped a new Summer Multi-Pack featuring dill pickle, apple pie and classic Rocket Pop flavors. And yes, they’re real. The dill pickle flavor is the only one that sounds even remotely passable, but if we’re being honest, we’re definitely intrigued to say the least.
Hubba Bubba Drinks
Raise your hand if you had an unhealthy obsession with Strawberry Watermelon Hubba Bubba Max and Bubble Tape growing up. Just us? Regardless, Hubba Bubba was big in the early aughts, and although you can still find it today, it’s not quite as popular as it once was. But that could change with the rumored release of Hubba Bubba drinks coming later this summer. The fruity beverages are expected to come in Tangy Tropical, Strawberry Watermelon, Blue Raspberry and original flavors. Although there isn’t a confirmed release date yet, we’ll be patiently waiting for these to drop.
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