7 Best Brand Collabs We’ve Tried Recently

Once in a while, packaged food brands pair up and make delicious packaged food babies. Old Bay and Goldfish. Jeni’s Ice Cream and Pop-Tarts. Not all of them are matches made in heaven, but once in a while, brands make beautiful music together. Here are some brand collabs we love (and some we think are just okay).

Old Bay Goldfish

I don’t host many (or any) Mid-Atlantic-style crab boils, so I don’t have much occasion to use Old Bay seasoning. I’m sure it’s good on fish, but who knew how good it would be on Goldfish? No exaggeration, this is one of the best new snacks I’ve tried this year. These crackers are savory, zesty, and totally addictive. If you love Old Bay, you’ll love these. If you don’t love Old Bay, try them anyway. A handful of these in a bowl of crab bisque? C’maaan.

Utz Mike’s Hot Honey Potato Chips

We frequently give new products high marks if they do what they set out to accomplish. This isn’t my favorite chip flavor by a longshot, but these Utz chips really capture the flavor and spice of Mike’s Hot Honey. Plus, Utz chips are just so good—light, crispy, and flavorful.

Read the full review of Utz Mike’s Hot Honey potato chips

Ithaca Grillo’s Pickles Hummus

Grillo’s makes good pickles. Their dill spears are among our favorites—they’re garlicky, dilly, and much fresher tasting than lots of other pickles you’ll find at the grocery store. Turns out the flavor of their pickles is the perfect complement to Ithaca’s creamy hummus. If you don’t like the flavor of dried dill, you probably won’t like this, but for the most part, pickle lovers will be into this with some pita chips.

Jeni’s x Pop-Tarts Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream

Brown sugar cinnamon is one of the best Pop-Tarts flavors. But even if you aren’t into Pop-Tarts (I’ll always be a Toaster Strudel guy), you’ll like this ice cream flavor. It’s sweet and cinnamony and the ice cream base tastes almost like cream cheese frosting. And the bits of crust in the mix give it lots of textural variety. Sadly, this is only available at Jeni’s scoop shops and on their website, but it’s worth seeking out.

Read the full review of Jeni’s x Pop-Tarts ice cream

Jack Link’s Flamin’ Hot Beef Jerky

Jack Link’s recently released two jerky flavors inspired by popular crunchy snacks: Flamin’ Hot and Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili. The Sweet Chili jerky is fine, but this Flamin’ Hot variety is something we’ll return to, even if it lacks the signature citric acid tang of the Flamin’ Hot snacks you know and love. The best part about it is that it’s genuinely spicy—and the spice really lingers.

Read the full review of Jack Link’s Flamin’ Hot jerky

Tic Tac Sprite

I wasn’t a huge fan of these Tic Tacs, but Rhett & Link like them! The lemon lime flavor isn’t all that reminiscent of Sprite, but they do include sodium bicarbonate so you get a little bit of a fizzy sensation when you eat them. I’d definitely be more into Orange Crush Tic Tacs.

Read the full review of Sprite Tic Tacs

Pillsbury Lucky Charms Soft Baked Cookies

Great idea, mediocre execution. Soft Baked cookies always taste a little bit like preservatives to me and these are no different. And the marshmallow flavor is strong. If you like a super-duper sweet cookie, you might be into these, but I’d rather just have a bowl of Lucky Charms, to be honest.

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.