He adds that brand partnerships can be also used to “drive legitimacy” for businesses moving into new spaces. He gives the example of Beyond Meat partnering with McDonald’s on its McPlant burger. That collaboration helps lend more credibility to McDonald’s by borrowing Beyond Meat’s expertise, Lees explains. Generating conversation and being a brand that plays a role in culture are the central aims of this partnership for KFC, says Public Relations Manager at the business Georgia Wilkins. The starting point is always our values,” she adds, saying that discussions around how the partnership would come to life in terms of marketing and communications came about after the two brands decided they were a good fit in terms of purpose.

Set to launch right on the doorstep of London Fashion Week later this month, the Greggs x Primark clothing collection adeptly flips the narrative of what it takes to look good, enabling those who may traditionally have been excluded from the exclusive world of high-fashion to get their own taste of the action in a way that works for them. Now, an expert has revealed the reason why the Greggs and Primark collaboration has been such a hit. However, for Ben & Jerry’s the object of the partnership is not driving sales or buzz, but impact. The partnership focuses on the cocoa supply chain and sees the ice cream brand join Tony’s Chocolonely’s mission to make chocolate 100% slave free. If you see someone at the airport or on the street with Greggs’ merch you immediately know it’s from Primark,” he says. Choosing a partner wisely Greggs is also, unusually, seen as a brand worth its salt. “Despite being a large chain in the UK, it still manages to project a sort of humble egalitarianism,” says Matthew Whitehouse, editor of the iconic youth culture magazine The Face. “To paraphrase Andy Warhol, a steak bake is a steak bake.” Plus, he says, citing staff bonuses and free breakfasts for primary schoolchildren, “it appears to be a really brilliantly run company.”Ben & Jerry’s describes its approach to everything as combining “joy and justice”, meaning its brand partnerships need to provide one or the other, says Thorpe. The company has previously partnered with Netflix on a “Netflix and Chill’d” flavour, something she says tapped into the “joy” side. Raymond Reynolds, the Greggs business development director, said that customers had “continually asked” for Greggs branded clothing. “Fans can quite literally show their love for Greggs on their sleeves,” he said.

Taking such an approach also enables both brands to capitalize on the ‘hype’ of being limited and to benefit from the halo effect of exclusivity previously reserved for achingly cool brands like Supreme. You can’t buy these collections in the traditional sense, but you can ‘cop’ them through fervent dedication to the brand. This subtle dig at the growing ‘uncoolness’ of millennial hype culture – scorned by Gen Z, who prefer unfiltered to curated feeds – is also cognizant of the fact the hierarchy of what’s in and what’s not is shifting.

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While in the fashion industry brands have been grabbing attention through collaborations for years, recent times have seen some more unexpected tie-ups. For Ben & Jerry’s and Tony’s Chocolonely that synergy is the shared commitment to values, for Primark and Greggs it’s great value and a sense of humour. While these collaborations may seem like a short-term execution the long-term brand-building is really important for a brand like Gucci,” Lees adds, pointing to data from Kantar’s 2022 BrandZ report which shows Gucci’s brand value grew 12% year-on-year. While Gucci is a specialist in luxury, North Face is a specialist in adventure and if you can tap into both of those, then you’re using your specialism and your expertise to then reach a new audience in an interesting and dynamic way,” he says.

The range proved to be so in demand that customers queued outside of Newcastle's Primark from as early as 7.30am on Tuesday to be first in line for the second batch of the collection as it arrived in store. An advantage of the Primark and Greggs partnership is that the collection is instantly recognisable, says Lees. Yet I’m loath to put Greggs in the same box as Wetherspoons and Primark. There is a nostalgia to Greggs pastries, born of after school treats and work breaks and a national consensus on the merits of sausage, bean and cheese melts. What’s more, the business is committed to causes and communities local to its branches, and has been since 1939 – and god help me, it’s pastries are good; hot, flaky, the pasty just the tiniest bit squidgy on the inside, the warm buttery aroma emanating through that paper bag, with its familiar blue and orange lettering. I’ve been there; I’ve eaten it – and whilst I draw the line at buying the t-shirt, I rather suspect this will be one of the most iconic collabs of all time. The highly anticipated 11-piece clothing range will go on sale across 60 Primark stores on Saturday with the pair also opening up a pop-up boutique on Dean Street in London’s Soho ahead of the collection’s launch.Last month, Ben & Jerry’s and chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely announced they were entering into “a chocolate love-a-fair” and had “fallen bar over spoons for each other”. The collaboration spans two limited-edition bars and ice-cream tubs. Greggs and Primark will open a pop-up boutique in Soho between 17 and 18 February to “offer eager fashionistas the chance to get their hands on some of the new collection before the rest of the nation”, with two pieces available for free to those who manage to secure a slot when bookings open on 10 February. Lees advises that before brands embark on partnerships, they must look at their existing and target customers to understand their habits and which other brands “are in their ecosystem”.

She explains Tony’s Chocolonely views itself as “an impact company that happens to make chocolate”, a vision which is very similar to how Ben & Jerry’s sees itself. She describes how the two brands “dated” for a time before deciding to embark on the collaboration to ensure they were a right fit for each other. Gucci launched a first iteration of its collaboration with The North Face in January 2021, before releasing the second in January 2022. The Adidas x Gucci collection landed in June 2022.

Choosing a partner wisely

Greggs customer director Hannah Squirrell describes the collaboration with Primark as “a match made in high street heaven”, which brings together two “greats” of the UK’s town and city centres. Those wearing the Greggs label ‘can poke fun at high fashion and be proud of who they are’. Photograph: Greggs/Primark Alex Econs, merchandising expert and founder of printing company, ICON Printing, said: "With a large number of merch released over the past year and from the news coverage and social media storm we’ve seen it generate, it’s undeniably a great marketing tactic for brands.