White Castle Continues Its 100th Birthday Celebration by Announcing New Partnerships with PUMA, Funko and Other Well-Known Brands

Collaborations on sneakers, clothing, collectable figures and more help White Castle celebrate milestone year

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Jun 24, 2021, 11:33 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of its 100^th birthday this year, White Castle is ramping up its brand visibility with fun new merchandise made in partnership with other well-known and popular brands. It's White Castle's boldest step yet into co-branded activations that really dive into its history and culture.

PUMA created a collection of sneakers and clothing honoring White Castle for its 100th birthday. The collection will launch June 25.

The “Pop! White Castle Slider" is the latest addition to Funko's "Foodies" line of vinyl figurines.

White Castle, a fast-food and retail pioneer, has long had its online shop, House of Crave, selling everything from socks and aprons to water bottles and beanies. And White Castle has partnered with the celebrated New York City design house TELFAR to create several expressions of its team member uniforms, including a special collection for its 100^th birthday. But new collaborations with companies like PUMA, Funko, DGK and others are helping to bring the Home of the Original Slider^® to life for Cravers in new and unique ways.

"Their products really tap into the essence of White Castle," said Lynn Blashford, chief marketing officer at White Castle. "We're such a one-a-kind American brand, and thanks to these new partnerships, our Cravers can engage with our brand in one-of-a-kind ways."

Global sports company PUMA created a collection of sneakers and clothing honoring White Castle. The PUMA x White Castle collection features two footwear styles: the classic PUMA Suede and the Future Rider. Both silhouettes boast White Castle's familiar blue-and-white color palette with striking blue accents, bright pops of orange, co-branded detailing, including images of the famous Castle, and contrast stitching for a fresh, new look. The White Castle collection, which also includes a hoodie, shorts, and various co-branded graphic T-shirts, will launch June 25 at PUMA.com, at PUMA's flagship store in New York City, and in-store and online at the Foot Locker family of stores (Foot Locker, Champs, Footaction and Eastbay). An additional PUMA x White Castle collection will be released this fall.

White Castle also partnered with Funko to create the "Pop! White Castle Slider," a vinyl figurine of a Slider in the classic White Castle box. Funko is a pop culture consumer products company that designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products, including vinyl figures, action toys, plush apparel, board games, housewares and accessories. The White Castle Slider figurine is part of Funko's "Foodies" line, which features other popular food brands.

DGK, an American company producing skateboards and related apparel, is introducing a new line of products in conjunction with White Castle. It will launch late this summer.

White Castle is working with a host of other brands, as well, to develop more White Castle inspired merchandise. The family-owned business has collaborated with Brandgenuity, its exclusive licensing agency, to make brand partnerships and collaborations a priority for its 100^th birthday.

"We're taking our brand partnerships to the next level with these and other activations," Blashford said. "What better way to launch our second century in business than by feeding the souls of new and existing Cravers with distinctive new merchandise?"

About White Castle^®

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders as a family-owned business for 100 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider^® in 1921. Today White Castle owns and operates more than 360 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time magazine's "Most Influential Burger of All Time," is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted Sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible^™ Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. In 2021, 100 years after the first Slider was sold, Fast Company named the fast-food pioneer one of the "10 Most Innovative Dining Companies." White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and also for its faithful fans ("Cravers"), many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pickup orders at any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.

SOURCE White Castle