The right pairing expands the room, sometimes in a really big way.

I wrote a while back about how Dr Pepper has, in many places, grown into one of the most popular soft drinks in America. It didn’t pull that one off by being neutral.

It did it by being unmistakable (if not a little weird) for a soda.

And now, it’s a weird Tic Tac.

Tic Tac® Dr Pepper® Mints take that 23-flavor identity and compress it into a pocket format.

This is not the strangest collaboration we’ve seen, but it is a notable first. Two cult followings are meeting in a single SKU.

It reminds me of the buzz around The Devil Wears Prada 2. Bring back Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, introduce Sydney Sweeney, and you are not merely reviving a decades-old flick.

No, MUCH better.

You’re merging fandoms who don’t always think alike: nostalgia sits with a whole new generation in this theatre.

The overlap creates its own rare momentum. (Even months before the movie hits theatres.)

That combination effect is what matters here too.

Dr Pepper loyalists are enticed into the mint aisle. Tic Tac fans try a flavor with narrative depth and history. (And that delicious weirdness.) They get tempted to sip something different.

Neither audience feels betrayed or confused because the core identity of each brand remains intact.

I believe collaborations fail when they dilute, confuse or cannibalize. They succeed when they INTENSIFY.

For smaller product makers and marketers, this is your takeaway: you do not need a massive R&D leap to create relevance.

You can connect with an adjacent tribe whose values or aesthetics align with yours and create a beautiful shared moment that feels earned.

Cross-pollination done right gives two communities permission to overlap.

That overlap is where attention multiplies, and magical stuff can happen.

What’s the smartest collab you’ve seen?

Want to make your product irresistible? That’s what we do as product marketing consultants at Graphos Product, helping innovators turn need-driven ideas into market-ready successes.