Restaurants have stepped up their game as gift idea hot spots
If you’re running out of ideas about where to find unique and playful holiday gifts, skip stores and head to your favorite restaurants, instead.
Fast-food chains, coffee shops, casual dining and even high-end restaurants have stepped up their branded merch game to satisfy shoppers’ holiday gifting goals.
Spanning from cute to crazy, eateries are offering all kinds of festive finds — bedazzled tumblers, soaps that smell like food ingredients, makeup and plenty of logo-bearing ugly sweaters to use as stocking stuffers or for stacking under the tree.
Here’s a sampling of gift ideas that restaurants are serving up this year:
KFC streetwear: The fried chicken chain is dishing out limited-edition new holiday streetwear-inspired clothing designed by artist and illustrator duo, Yeye Weller. It includes T-shirts, ugly sweaters, hoodies, beanies and socks. The collection is available on KFCShop.com and is priced from $24 to $50.
White Castle: The burger chain, best known for small square burgers called “sliders,” has new “House of Crave” merch shop offerings for the holidays.
Gift items include hoodies, T-shirts, a White Castle tumbler and a White Castle jersey.
“We have the most passionate fans in the fast-food industry and …. we’re excited about launching the new House of Crave, giving these fans countless fun options for showing off their love of White Castle,” Jamie Richardson, vice president with White Castle, said in a statement.
Panera Bread: The bakery-café chain has taken inspiration from its soups (it sells more than 144 million servings every year) to create a line of giftable soup cups.
The cups, priced at $10 for a set of three, feature designs such as tomatoes, broccoli cheddar and Panera’s bread bowls, that pay homage to its most popular soups on the menu.
Sweetgreen: Salad lovers can appreciate this new merch drop from the salad chain, which includes leafy greens-inspired clothing such as a “Kale Camo” hoodie meant to spotlight Sweetgreen’s No. 1 leafy green. The chain said the hoodie is made with fully biodegradable fleece sourced from 100% reclaimed cotton waste.
Outback Steakhouse: The Australian-inspired steakhouse chain rolled out a few holiday surprises of its own. They include a “Koala on the Walla” plush toy (priced at $24.99) that’s described as “Elf on the Shelf, but sassier” and a “Merry Steakmas Sweatshirt” for $30.
Chipotle Mexican Grill: The quick service Mexican food chain isn’t reinventing the wheel this year with its non-food holiday offerings. It’s just bringing back past holiday hits such as its cilantro soap, the "water" cup candle and the car napkin holder. A holiday set with all three products is priced at $50.
"Over the years, we've seen these limited edition merch drops sell out in a matter of minutes or hours and pop up on resale websites for up to five times their retail price," Chris Brandt, chief brand officer at Chipotle, said in a statement. “We are giving our superfans a second chance to get their hands on these coveted products that they helped inspire."
Pizza Hut: Tomato wine, anyone? For the first time, Pizza Hut has launched its own wine, a limited-edition “tomato wine” meant to be paired with a slice of — what else — pizza.
The wine, developed in partnership with Kansas-based Irvine's Just Beyond Paradise Winery, offers what is described as an “aromatic blend of fresh herbs and spices with rich, sun-ripened tomato notes and a subtle hint of toasted oak – reminiscent of a perfectly baked pizza crust.”
"As a brand who has pioneered many firsts in the industry, we took a beloved, classic pairing of pizza and red wine and flipped it on its head as we aim to spark intrigue and create a more memorable holiday pizza party,” Pizza Hut's director of advertising, Elyse Slayton, said in a statement.
The wine is also included in a limited-edition gift set (priced at $60), together with two Pizza Hut-branded wine glasses and a wine opener.
Chick-fil-A: The standout holiday drop from Chick-fil-A has to be a pair of 14K gold plated Waffle Fry heart earrings (priced at $14) inspired by its iconic fries. If jewelry is not what you’re looking for, skip over the selection to Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich string lights or a festive beanie featuring the chain’s top menu items.