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When I’m collaborating with a brand, one of our first questions is, “What’s the weirdest thing we can do?” If you can start at that place — the fun thing, or the weird thing — and get outside your comfort zone, then those creative sessions are where the magic happens. That helps our team at Tilit NYC surprise and delight our customers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
My partner, Alex McCrery, and I co-founded our business in 2012 with the goal of producing fashion-forward (but still functional) workwear that people in the industry could be proud of. Over the years, we’ve collaborated with thousands of brands, including chefs, restaurants, restaurant groups, beverage companies, artists, manufacturers, and many others as a way to learn and grow. Shooting our shot with big time brands has pushed us creatively. It’s also caused a domino effect where partnerships lead to more partnerships. Co-branding has been a fantastic way to get attention, merge audiences, build community, and take their brands and ours to the next level.
I’ve learned that the consumer attention span is short, and people want to spend their money on brands that they care about that are doing something fun and authentic. For us, collaborations help us tap into the hospitality community’s interests and introduce some fun, new products.
But beyond that, thinking up new partnership possibilities is something I love. It stretches our potential and, like I said, allows me to get weird and have fun with my job and with potential collaborators. When an off-the-wall idea comes together in a great way, that can really cement a strong partnership where everyone walks away feeling really good about what they made. While it’s impossible for me to name my favorite collaborations (that’s like choosing your favorite child), here are a few recent partnerships that I’m especially proud of – and why they worked.
When delight meets utility: collaborating on a durable deli cup
What we did: Drinking out of deli containers is a popular pastime for chefs (IYKYK). We decided to build a better mousetrap and partnered with Cambro, a popular food storage manufacturer, to create the Tilit X Cambro Cup. It’s a giant, durable cup with a straw in it, along with cheeky industry phrases on it as measurements. At the one liter line it says “pre-shift,” and at the half-liter line it says “in the weeds,” for example. It went pretty viral within our industry immediately, and we sold over 15,000 of these cups since launch.
Why it worked: We were able to hone in on a behavior that anyone who’s worked in a restaurant is all too familiar with — the habitual reliance on deli containers — and partner with a food-adjacent business to make it into a quality product that’s funny, useful, and a great conversation starter. I think this partnership succeeded because of the surprise and delight factor, and because it’s so authentic for the community. If you’re exploring brand collaborations, consider industry-adjacent partnerships, like this one. Following this approach can help you identify products that could solve problems, and maybe even add levity to the workplace.
Capturing a culture: for every chef, a throne
What we did: Miller High Life is a brand that’s really appreciated within chef culture. The Champagne of Beers is often the first after-shift drink chefs order at a dive bar. As a nod to that culture, we collaborated with Miller High Life and fabricated the Tilit X Miller High Life Crate Throne. It’s a milk crate that we spray-painted Miller gold and topped with a red velvet cushion, because chefs don’t have chairs in the kitchen, they sit on milk crates when they take a break. We made just 20 of them (they were surprisingly expensive to fabricate), and they sold out within four hours. We also made merchandise illustrated with the classic Miller High Life Girl in the Moon sitting on the golden crate, holding a pair of golden chef tongs.
Why it worked: It was a really fun moment, because we were able to hone in on something so specific to the restaurant industry—a love of Miller High Life, milk crates as thrones—and elevate them in a respectful but also humorous way that showed we’re all in on the same joke. This was definitely one of our “weird” ideas that hit home. I think working with a restaurant-adjacent brand and putting a “chef-ified” spin on it made the merch appealing to a broader audience. My advice to other business owners is to identify an industry-loved brand, and think about the weirdest thing you can do with their themes. Then, approach the brand about a potential partnership. You’ve got to shoot your shot, right?
Rooted in local pride: a collaborative pizza pairing
What we did: Another fun brand partnership we’ve done is a collaboration with S.Pellegrino to pair different flavors of water with slices of pizza from five pizzerias around New York City: Roberta’s, Mel’s, Fini, F&F, and L’industrie. For two weeks, each pizzeria offered a limited-edition slice they served with a free can of S.Pellegrino Essenza Sparkling Mineral Water. The promotion was themed around an Italian-style race so we made racecar style merch, inspired by the pizza box designs of each participating pizzeria. If you went to one of these pizza shops and scanned a QR code or visited our website, you could enter to win a free trip to Italy. That was a lot of fun, and it’s something we’re planning to bring back with S.Pellegrino. Now that we have a tried-and-true partnership, we’re looking forward to doing it even bigger and better nationwide this fall.
Why it worked: This partnership worked because it was rooted in local pride. We got creative when we extended the pizza box designs from five pizzerias to merch that was available to loyal customers. I think other business owners could do something similar by thinking of adjacent brands that have a lot of local love and finding ways to build on that through branded merchandise, exclusive experiences, and other inspired offerings.
A means to make a difference: partnerships that give back
What we did: When a collaboration has a give-back component, it’s especially rewarding. We do a lot of those. In response to the recent California wildfires, we did a fashion collaboration with renowned LA artist Terry Urban, inspired by the art of cooking. We also produced a Tilit X Terry Urban Camtray featuring Urban’s artwork – which is in line with tattoo styles popular among the chef community – and the proceeds from the tray are being donated to Restaurants Care to support hospitality workers in crisis.
During the early days of the pandemic, we collaborated with S.Pellegrino to create a limited-edition collection of bandanas designed in partnership with three iconic restaurants: Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Lilia, and Tartine, and net proceeds were donated to nonprofits supporting hospitality workers. Looking ahead, we’re currently focusing on another partnership that will provide grants to restaurant workers in crisis.
Why it worked: When catastrophes strike, businesses and customers want to help, but so often they don’t know how. Collaborating with like-minded businesses can help raise awareness, raise funds and offer an outlet so that consumers can make an impact. These give-back collabs allow businesses to work together to reach a broader audience, and of course there’s the feel-good element of raising funds for people and businesses in need.
Right now, we have a lot of partnerships brewing that I’m excited about, and others that I dream about. I think a lot about chef guilty pleasures, and the potential for crossover there, whether that means fast-food collaborations or partnering with chip brands. I can also envision collaborating with shoe brands that are popular in chef and pop culture. I don’t want to name any names right now, but I’m putting it here first, to shoot my shot and will it into existence.
If you’re looking for a mutually beneficial collaboration, my suggestion would be to think about what cuts through for your consumer. What do they see and use in their everyday life that can be elevated? What are their guilty pleasures? When you move on to promotion, try to highlight people from the community you’re looking to attract. Their enthusiasm will shine through, and their networks are the exact people you want to reach.
