Hidden Valley Ranch
Burt's Bees and Hidden Valley Ranch come together for Craveable Limited Edition Lip Balm
New York CNN –
What started as an April Fool's joke turned into a real product that was so popular that it sold out within a day.
On Wednesday, Burt's Bees and Hidden Valley Ranch announced an unusual collaboration — a set of lip balms that taste like a basket full of chicken wings. The four flavors included buffalo sauce, crunchy celery, fresh carrots and of course the trademark Hidden Valley Ranch.
The lip balm may remind customers of some classic American dishes – so just apply it to your lips if you dare, but don't eat it.
“NOT FOR CONSUMPTION. Obvious,” the website warned.
As of Thursday, the “Alptmares” (or “Dreams”) collaboration was already sold out on the Burt's Bees website. It originally sold for $11.99.
When most companies announce joke products — think Velveeta Martinis, Doritos alcohol and KFC Chicken Yule Logs — they are not intended to boost a company's profits or even sell out.
They are simply clever marketing ploys sent out as niche giveaways or, in some cases, to attract attention on social media. Kraft Heinz, for example, resorted to gimmicks and nostalgia to make a comeback and revive its “dusty” brands.
Burt's Bees' collaboration with Hidden Valley Ranch grew out of an April Fool's Day social media post. Burt's Bees posted a Hidden Valley Ranch-flavored lip balm on Instagram on April 1, 2022 – with assurances on the fake packaging that it was 100% natural in origin.
The lip balm's release also came just weeks before Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, and wings are a popular game day snack.
—CNN's Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.