Insights

Trendspotting: Fun's Not Just for Kids anymore!

Brands are targeting “kidults” with collectibles and giveaways.

Recently, we’ve seen restaurants offering toys and other tangible brand-building collectibles as incentives to drive traffic and excitement with adult guests. This emerging trend has been seen in meal combos, drink promotions and promotional product giveaways that are driving social media buzz, traffic and sales for the restaurant industry.

McDonald’s has led the charge. They offered a Cactus Plant Flea Market Box in 2022, garnering Gen Z credibility with the edgy fashion license. The meal was styled as an “Adult Happy Meal,” including a special box and a toy. It reportedly drove a 37% YOY increase in traffic the week it launched. The Kerwin Frost Box launched in 2023 including one of six collectible McNugget Buddies inspired by the American artist, DJ and talk show host. Both meals featured licensed content with strong appeal to Gen Z consumers that drove excitement and media impressions.

We’ve also seen this trend accelerate with the increase of collectible cup programs. Starbucks has seen success in this space for years with Red Cup Day and its limited edition cups. Other brands are now catching onto the trend. Last year saw Raising Cane’s launch of a co-branded collector cup series with music icon Post Malone. The promotion drove enviable traffic as consumers clamored to collect the whole series.

A close-up view of a large collection of colorful stickers, many of which are associated with the Dutch Bros coffee chain. The stickers are layered on top of each other, creating a collage effect. Prominent stickers include a large circular blue and white one with a stylized windmill, a black and yellow sticker that reads ‘CAFFEINE IS NOT A CRIME’, and several blue and white stickers with the phrase ‘DRINK ONE FOR DANE’. There are also stickers with American flag designs, stylized logos, and other phrases. The background appears to be a black-and-white patterned surface. The bottom right corner has a credit that reads ‘Photo: Dutch Bros’.

A promotional image showing two different sets of collectible beverage cups. The left side shows a hand holding a red Starbucks holiday cup with a white lid and a green and red design of stars and diamonds. Behind it are three other Starbucks cups with festive holiday patterns. The bottom of the image has a credit that reads ‘Photo: Starbucks’s Stories’. The right side of the image shows three Raising Cane’s reusable plastic cups. The one in the foreground is black and white and is covered in drawings of eyes. The two cups behind it are a solid light pink color. The bottom of the image has a credit that reads ‘Photo: Raising Cane’s’.

A photo of a McDonald’s Happy Meal box that is opened to show four stylized collectible toys standing in front of a blue mat with cartoon characters on it. From left to right, the toys are a purple Grimace, a yellow McDonald’s character with a red hat, a red-and-yellow-striped Birdie, and a Hamburglar in a black and white striped outfit and a black hat. The McDonald’s and ‘Cactus Plant Flea Market’ logos are visible on the Happy Meal box and the mat. The toys are from a limited-edition collaboration. The bottom of the image has a credit that reads ‘Photo: Benedict Palmeri for WSJ’.

And it’s not just cups that adult consumers want to collect. Dutch Bros has a monthly sticker drop featuring a new, design-forward sticker with a new or suggested drink pairing, driving collectors’ return visits. The ongoing collectibility has the added benefit of keeping continuous brand-buzz percolating through social media circles.

Why it works. Collectibles that customers can touch and feel give them a moment of joy, regardless of their age. These special items are a treat, a little something extra to make life more fun and bring a sense of nostalgia for the kids’ meals and toys they grew up with.

It creates a tangible emotional connection. A collectible program has the power to delight guests with physical tokens of your brand. It makes them feel like brand insiders, and that super-charges their fandom.

It differentiates your brand. What makes customers choose you and not another brand? You stand out when you provide a unique experience they can only get from you.

It creates conversation and generates buzz. A collectible program can make your brand newsworthy. Tangible activations are buzz-worthy on social media and through earned media.

C3 can help. At C3, we’ve been creating, manufacturing and distributing collectible products as part of meal programs for over 37 years. We create smart design, leveraging licensing when appropriate, to take brand-building ideas from conception to the marketplace.

To learn more about how you can win with this trend, see this C3 Lab article on kidult collectibles or contact us at the link below!

About C3

C3 is an industry-leading design and brand marketing agency with more than 38 years of experience creating connections with customers, from families with children to Gen Zers. We provide insights, strategy, creativity and supply-chain expertise to build smart marketing programs around fully custom products, like kids’ meal toys, collectibles and other branded entertainment. We design and produce brand experiences you can touch — and that’s more powerful than a marketing message alone. A C3 product ignites a moment of joy and creates brand loyalty that lasts.