See it and Sell it First at ASI Show Orlando – January 4-6, 2025.   Register Now.

Strategy November 26, 2018

Chili’s Launches Merch Collection For Cyber Monday

The promotional products, which included a bomber jacket and T-Shirt, were only to be available for 24 hours via an online pop-up shop.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Chili’s has debuted a new line of branded merchandise that fans say is every bit as hot as the casual dining chain’s Tex-Mex cuisine.

The collection is another in an ever-growing list of cool examples of food industry brands using swag to connect with audiences. The tight timeframe to purchase also speaks to an imprinted apparel trend – namely, brands in the entertainment, hospitality and fashion industries increasingly launching small collections that are available for a short time only in order to generate a sense of urgency and immediacy that propels sales. In all that, there’s opportunity for promotional product distributors.

Anyhow, the Chili’s line features a T-Shirt, bomber jacket, cufflink set and one-piece swimsuit. Here’s a look at the gear:

The one-piece swimsuit.

The phrase on this T-Shirt takes its inspiration from an episode of the show The Office in which character Pam Beesly gets booted from a Chili’s for enjoying too many Second Drinks. “You have Pam to thank for this baller T-Shirt,” Chili’s said.

Cufflinks in the form of standard Chili’s fare – burgers, ribs, fajitas and margaritas.

“Thanks to our queso lover who took her love to the next level with this article "15 Tweets You'll Only Understand If You're Completely Obsessed With Chili's Queso," we thought it was only appropriate to create an item to match her love for our Skillet Queso,” Chili’s said. The result was this sizzling Skillet Queso jacket.

The swag was scoring fans.