By Mark Seavy 

As collaborations flood the market, corporate brands are increasingly joining the fray in an effort to remain au courant with younger consumers. 

It is not that companies have ever been hesitant to burnish their brands. But recently, in conference calls with investors and analysts, a number of senior executives have spotlighted the importance of marketing campaigns with celebrities, influencers, and social media companies as part of their strategy to stretch their brand’s boundaries. 

Surf and streetwear brand Stüssy, which launched in 1984 as an apparel and surfboard partnership between Shawn Stussy and Frank Sinatra, Jr., re-entered the kitchenware business this spring with a stainless-steel strainer and pour-over coffee set. It is not the first time Stüssy navigated the kitchen—it sold a Japan-only Stüssy Livin’ General Store line around a decade ago—but this new entry is a bid to regain cultural relevance. 

In the case of Nespresso, the brand needed no re-introduction. But that has not stopped parent company Nestlé from hiring popstar Dua Lipa as a brand ambassador or pairing its KitKat candy brand with the Formula 1 circuit, a partnership that launched racing car-shaped chocolates. And then there’s Activision Blizzard licensee and real estate online marketplace Zillow, which in February launched player “housing” inside the videogame World of Warcraft’s Azeroth fantasy realm. 

“These collaborations reflect a new approach to brand building, investing in the right partnerships, which elevate brands and engage a broad spectrum of consumes and especially those younger demographics,” Nestlé CEO Philipp Navratil said. 

The approach is gaining popularity with a number of companies.  

Longtime licensor The Hershey Co. launched a collaboration between its Reese’s brand and Mondelez International’s Oreo label, which has also featured multiple partnerships with popstars, including Post Malone, Lady Gaga, and Selena Gomez. Additionally, a film depicting the origin story of Milton Hershey and his wife, Kitty, is due to be released by producer Dandelion Media later this year.  

And fast food chain White Castle further expanded business outside its 335 restaurants with licensee Automated Retail Technologies deploying 1,000 Crave & Go hot-food kiosks, expanding a format that launched at Boston’s Logan Airport last year. 

“It’s a collection of things that we model to build out a business,” said Kirk Tanner, CEO at Hershey, which is a launching a new premium chocolate under the Hershey brand later this year. “It is not reliant on any one thing and that is what makes a business strong.”  

The strategy of promoting brands through a wide range of offerings in a bid to expand business (with a focus on celebrity or influencer partnerships) has also found its way into the tabletop category.  

Dinnerware supplier Villeroy & Boch, which has traditionally focused on its own brands, is launching a licensed 26-piece collection featuring Disney’s Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Europe this month. The design is based on Villeroy’s Manufactured collection and further extends a licensing effort that featured a collaboration with streetwear brand Supreme.  

And in Brazil, two luxury brands—fine tableware and fragrance supplier Tania Bulhões and artisanal chocolate maker Chocolat du Jour—introduced a Cacaueiro collection featuring decorated porcelain plates and cups as well as egg-shaped bonbonniere containing a chocolate egg and a box of 12 chocolates. 

“With the way the tabletop business is changing, including less formal dining and more mix-and-match settings, we felt we needed to reach not only a younger audience but one that also grew up with Disney,” said Victoria Rogulska, Head of Marketing Americas at Villeroy & Boch. “There are many approaches to accomplishing this and we felt this was the best route for us.”