Product collaborations between companies are always intriguing affairs, especially when the principles don’t have much in common. That’s definitely the case in this collab between soda giant Mountain Dew and Blind Barber, with the former making its first foray into the skincare world with three products based on its new flavor.
A flavorful collaboration
There’s a bit to unpack here, so explanations are necessary. Start with the flavors — the existing one is Baja Blast, which Mountain Dew describes as “iconic,” along with a new flavor called Baja Cabo Citrus that they say adds touches of mandarin and lime.
That combination leads into the skincare products, which come in a pair of packages. The first is Beach Bound: Refresh Kit, and it features a shampoo bar, body bar and body lotion trio inspired by Baja Blast. This package is available via Blind Barber starting April 16th.
The second package is Beach Bound: Body Spray Set. It includes two body sprays based on the Baja Cabo Citrus flavor, and this package is being billed as a “bottle the beach” experience. Same availability, i.e., you can find it on Blind Barber on April 16th.
The ultimate beach experience?
Not surprisingly, there are splashy promos that are part of this release. The Body Spray Set will be bundled with an 18-pack of the new Baja Cabo Citrus, and availability for these bundles will be on the Mountain Dew TikTok Shop on April 16th. A sweepstakes will also send one lucky entrant to Cabo San Lucas to get what will presumably be the ultimate beach experience.
So why Blind Barber? It’s a community-driven grooming brand co-founded by Jeff Laub that started as a barbershop with a hidden bar, but it’s now described as a “cultural hub” that blends grooming, nightlife and connection.
Connecting the dots isn’t all that hard to understand what the folks at Mountain Dew are up to here. Consumer brands like MD and Heineken are eyeing the growing interest in skincare products among younger men, and they’re looking to use their brand power to muscle their way into the market.
Will it work? The simplest answer to this question is “yes, if the skincare products are good,” but that’s also a simplistic take at best. This release comes with plenty of moving parts and pieces involved, and as a test of brand power it represents a fascinating marketing experiment.
