Fast Food Merchandise Does More Than Create Meme-Able Fashion Trends

If you eat fast food, you probably have your go-to chain for your favorite burgers, chicken, or tacos, but would you go a step further and wear their logos or slogans on shirts or shoes and serve as a living, breathing advertisement for the corporation? Fast food companies offer brand merchandise with the intention of going beyond social media memes and connecting with entire generations of people to enhance their brand awareness. Sure, it's nice to go viral with a catchy product, but attention spans are short and the idea is to create lasting brand loyalty that inspires customers to share their love of a fast food place and literally wear that loyalty on their sleeves.

Of course, fast food giants such as Taco Bell and McDonald's aren't the only places that peddle swag: plenty of small mom-and-pop shops and regional fast food restaurants sell hats and t-shirts as well. The difference is that the heavy hitters want to move beyond the trendy into a committed lifelong fan relationship that will increase sales. For example, brands like Panera and Sonic are now even releasing seasonal fashion lines featuring their latest merch.

The quest to promote brand awareness and recruit generations of faithful devotees has led to odd bedfellows collaborating including once faltering titans like KFC and Crocs, who joined forces in 2020 to launch something called the "Bucket Clog," a Croc depicting images of fried chicken that comes with attachable charms featuring the likeness and odor of actual fried chicken. In 2017, the aforementioned Taco Bell partnered with popular fashion retailer Forever 21 on items such as a fire sauce-themed bodysuit.

Though chicken-festooned footwear and saucy body suits might strike some as odd, these aren't the strangest fast food merchandise ever sold. For those who just can't get enough of that new Whopper smell, a Burger King in Japan once pitched a limited-time (probably a wise choice) Flame-Grilled Fragrance cologne that sold for the equivalent of roughly $42. Presumably, people just can't resist that enticing flame-broiled scent on a man. Domino's locations in the U.K. and Ireland offered stain-resistant adult pajamas adorned with pepperoni slices. In-N-Out Burger sells a French Fry Beach Towel in its online store catalog. It's up to the individual to decide how far they're willing to take their dedication to a particular fast food chain, whether you wear something seriously or ironically, but rest assured these corporations will continue coming out with novel merchandise to further build their brand.