Doritos brand collab

When someone says ‘Doritos’, you automatically think of crunchy, cheesy nachos.

How about a Doritos flavoured drink? Empirical, a spirits company, came up with the idea and did some experimentation. The result is a liqueur that smells and tastes exactly like nachos. It’s supposed to be delicious.

The Doritos drink led to a special collaboration between Pepsico and Empirical, with the first batch of Dorito bottles already sold out. Another batch is set to be released in 2024.

Collaborations between brands (brand collabs) are much more common these days. Nintendo's collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum led to a run on its special Pokemon card, Ben & Jerry's has a Tony’s Chocolonely flavour and Adidas launched a Bored Ape NFT. These are just a few of the numerous examples.

However, it is crucial that brand collaborations are carefully prepared by legal departments. It's not only imperative to set out the terms of the collaboration in meticulous detail, but the trademark aspect also requires thorough attention. DORITOS may be a well-known trademark for snacks, but that does not mean it is available for alcoholic beverages. Therefore, when entering into a brand collab, it is advisable to conduct a trademark search. In some cases, registration is also a good idea, especially if there are plans for continued production.

Author: Arnaud Bos

Bio: Arnaud is trademark attorney and within Knijff responsible for the marketing & communication. Arnaud is specialist in the metaverse and music sectors and his client portfolio includes many upcoming and renowned bands. He keeps a close eye on the latest case law in the EU and will let you know when he sees remarkable applications.