Backpacks, costumes, sandals: Why Bush’s Beans is investing in merch

Bush’s is selling Halloween costumes this year. Yes, the bean company. And it’s not even the brand’s first foray into fashion.

The company has been in the merch game for a while, according to Kate Rafferty, its consumer experience brand manager. It has a “visitor center” in its home state of Tennessee that has stocked “bean merch,” as she called it, since it opened its doors in June 2010.

A couple of years ago, Bush’s took that business online, selling items from clothes to doormats to mints. The DTC shop really found its footing this year, she said, when Bush’s started dropping merch tied to specific holidays when “bean usage” is high. Recent drops have included a summer collection with some items tied to Father’s Day, a back-to-school collection, and the Halloween one.

“What do you think of when you think of summer? Of course, you think of baked beans—eating outside and grilling,” Rafferty told us. “We’ve created this key-holiday strategy, and I think that’s really created some fun relevance and conversation for people.”

Bush’s treats the merch more as a marketing channel than a revenue stream, according to Rafferty, one that helps it “spread some joy” and ideally connect with younger consumers.

You wear what you eat

Branded merch isn’t a new concept, and it’s particularly popular with food companies. Brands ranging from Banza to Dunkin’ to Panera have created their own clothing over the past few years.

For marketers, it can serve different purposes. While merch can drive online chatter, it’s also a way for brands to collect customer data, something that’s become increasingly important as third-party identifiers become harder to come by.

At Bush’s, conversation around the products is an important indicator of success, according to Rafferty. There seems to be no shortage of organic content around Bush’s. On #beantok, which has 84 million views, creators have posted hauls from the visitor center and made beats using its cans.

On Instagram, users will often leave comments with suggestions for new merch, Rafferty said, requesting everything from different styles of AirPods cases to bedding for dorm rooms (because nothing screams “I’m a cool roommate” more than sheets covered in beans).

“We’ve always taken the position of, beans bring people joy and happiness,” she said. “We take our beans seriously, and the quality of our beans seriously, but we take our marketing with a lot of joy and humor, because we think that that’s what brings people a smile. When you’re eating beans and having those meals with your family, that’s what it’s all about. Bush’s has always been about that humor, so it just makes sense.”

In addition to user-generated content, Rafferty said Bush’s posts on its own social media channels and leverages paid media and creator partnerships to help spread the word about its swag.

Meant to bean

The summer and Father’s Day line—which includes hats, slides, and a Bluetooth speaker—has been particularly popular, Rafferty said. There’s also the back-to-school line with a backpack, koozie, and sweatsuit.

Bush’s has been watching monthly site traffic and sales, she said, but declined to share specific numbers. While it’s still early days of the seasonal strategy, she said Bush’s is so far “happy with the growth we’ve seen.”

The brand is planning on releasing another holiday collection this year, Rafferty said, on top of its existing “Season’s Beanings” collection.

Merch isn’t the only way Bush’s exists in the world outside of its cans; it also sponsors a range of organizations and events across the country that are relevant to its brand, according to Rafferty, including the Grand Ole Opry, the National Cornbread Festival, and several sports properties.

One of the wackiest might be the American Cornhole League, which, like its merch, helps the brand connect with younger consumers, Rafferty said. It’s one of the sponsorships she hears the most comments about, she said, since people notice the jerseys when they see cornhole on TV.

Apparently, even professional athletes love repping beans on their clothes.