Love Mac & Cheese? Pucker up, as Panera has the perfect beauty treat for you.
Panera Bread is turning their ultimate comfort food of Mac & Cheese into your newest beauty essential just in time for National Mac & Cheese Day on July 14. Panera is partnering with beauty brand Holler & Glow to create the S’Mac & Cheese lip balm. It’s a limited-edition balm duo that is available starting today (July 9) on The Panera Shop and Amazon.
This lip treat is inspired by Panera’s fan-favorite Mac & Cheese and iconic Bread Bowl, which will bring your cravings towards your beauty routine. Yup, you’ve read that right. Each balm is scented with this go-to Panera meal and created with Holler and Glow’s signature glossy and non-stick formula of their lip balms. It also comes with nourishing vitamin E in a spoon-shaped applicator.
The lip balm duo includes the following per pack:
- S’Mac My Day – Features a golden Mac & Cheese scented balm just like your Panera favorite.
- Get That Bread – A toasty bread-scented lip balm that gives off a soft brown hue with every swipe.
Both the S’Mac My Day and Get That Bread will be available via The Panera Shop and Amazon for $8 while supplies last. But that’s not all, as Panera gives an added treat this National Mac & Cheese Day. All MyPanera members can enjoy a $2 off if they get Mac & Cheese as their entree at cafes nationwide. Meanwhile, in locations like New York City, Green Bay and Austin, Texas, guests might get a surprise of a free lip balm duo at their local cafes while supplies last.
Creation of The Quirky Lip Balm Duo
A Mac & Cheese and bread-scented lip balm? That’s a quirky idea for a lip care product. In fact, Mark Shambura, Chief Marketing Officer at Panera Bread, acknowledges it. He said they could have gone with a strawberry scent, their seasonal salad favorite, but they decided to go with an unexpected yet iconic pairing so fans could bring the taste of their all-time favorite in their everyday routine.
The launch of the S’Mac & Cheese is Panera’s first-ever step into the beauty world. You may remember that the brand also stepped into the fashion world when they released the Croissant Clutch and BAGuette Bag months ago.
Meanwhile, Thea Green, the Founder of Holler and Glow, said that their brand lives for “playful beauty that doesn’t take itself seriously.” She shared that Panera came to them with an idea of a Mac & Cheese lip balm, so they said yes and made it extra cheesy. Green added that their collaboration is a mix of comfort food and nostalgia as it’s both joyful and unexpected.
RELATED: The 10 Fast Food Chains Crushing the Chicken Wrap Game
More Fast Food Collaborations with Beauty Brands
Panera isn’t the first fast food chain to collaborate with a beauty brand. These collaborations are a fun and quirky way to relate to their fans. Imagine using the exact lip balm shade with your comfort food. Since we’re on the topic of such collaborations, we’re bringing you more chains that partnered up with beauty brands to launch their special collections:
- tarte Cosmetics x Dunkin’– Just last month, Dunkin’ and tarte Cosmetics launched the Guava Girl Summer with a line of juicy lip essentials inspired by Dunkin’ Refreshers. It fuses with tarte’s viral Maracuja juicy lip formula through a lip tint and shimmer lip plumps of rosy mauve and icing shades. Each lippie also comes with a keychain charm of a cup and a donut.
- e.l.f. Cosmetics x Chipotle – During the spring of 2021, Chipotle partnered up with e.l.f. Cosmetics that feature four makeup products. First, there’s an eyeshadow palette with shade names of guac, pinto beans, salsa, and brown rice. Other products include a red plumping lip gloss, a sponge set shaped as an avocado and pit, and a makeup bag like Chipotle’s tortilla chip brown bag.
- Dove x Crumbl – Crumbl collaborated with Dove for a body care collection late last year. It featured four products: the Strawberry Cookie Exfoliating Scrub, the Strawberry Cookie Liquid Handwash, the Lemon Glaze Liquid Body Wash, and the Confetti Cake Deodorant Stick.
- Nails.INC x McDonald’s – Last year, McDonald’s collaborated with Nails.INC with four nail products that feature their popular menu items. They launched a Nail Polish Duo, Mini Nail Polish Duo, Artificial Press-On Nails, and Gold Hearts Topper Polish.
Sweet Treats From The Bakery
We’ve got the sweetest pastries calling our name this season. Catch the following sweet treats from Nothing Bundt Cakes and Krispy Kreme!
While the banana pudding craze from last year has toned down a bit, Nothing Bundt Cakes isn’t stopping yet. This summer, they’re bringing the back their Banana Pudding Cake featuring Nilla Wafers. This summer treat features a banana cake base that is baked with real banana puree and Mini Nilla Wafers. The cake is filled and drizzled with vanilla pudding from all around. Catch this treat as they go to Nothing Bundt Cake locations from July 7th to the 20th.
Meanwhile, Krispy Kreme is catching the kryptonite as they partner up with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products for the Hungry for Heroes Collection. It features three doughnuts celebrating the iconic DC heroes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Check them out:
- Superman Doughnut – Features a base of unglazed shell doughnut filled with white Kreme and dipped in blue icing. The doughnut is further decorated with Superman buttercreme flavored clouds, an image of Superman, and a sprinkle blend.
- Batman Doughnut – An unglazed shell doughnut base filled with cookies & Kreme. It’s dipped in black chocolate icing and topped with a Bat emblem.
- Wonder Woman Doughnut – an Original Glazed doughnut dipped in red raspberry flavored icing and decorated with white stars and blue sprinkles. There’s also a Wonder Woman logo and belt feature.
RELATED: McDonald’s Adds a Fiery Twist to a Breakfast Classic
From The Club
As someone who loves lippies and comfort food is Mac & Cheese, this S’Mac & Cheese lip balm is the perfect Panera collaboration I could ever ask for. I remembered having those food-scented lip balms, like the NERDS candy and HERSHEY’S ones, as a kid. But a Mac & Cheese one? Now that’s an interesting choice of scent for a lip balm. I hope it’s leaning on the buttery side since I don’t want my lips smelling like cheese. 🤣