Korean band BTS has been on fire for the past few years in America, appearing everywhere from the cover of Time Magazine as its 2020 Entertainer of the Year to performing at the Grammys.
The band has been around much longer than that though--since 2013, to be exact--and in the decade since, BTS has become an explosive money maker for its parent company Hybe (formerly known as Big Hit), pulling in more than $1 billion in 2021 alone through sales of concert tickets, merchandise, marketing deals, and more.
BTS has been featured in many product endorsement campaigns in the past with big names like McDonald's (MCD), Samsung SSNLF, Fila (FILAF) , and Hyundai (HYMTF) . While many of these products were sold in Asia only, the popularity of the band has grown so much in recent years that their stardom is attracting American deals too (McDonald's being their biggest so far).
Now a new deal has emerged, this time with one of the world's most established and best-known candy makers.
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BTS and Snickers Join Forces
On July 29, the term BTS x Snickers starting trending on Twitter (TWTR) after fans started to post photos of the candy bars that they spotted in the wild.
Army, as BTS fans call themselves (a name chosen by the band themselves), were delighted when they discovered the collaboration.
The special edition candy bars are purple (the band's signature color) and feature the names of songs from different albums throughout their career.
Social media users identified that the candy bars were photographed in the Philippines, and one sleuth discovered that the collaboration was officially due to drop August 1, thanks to some inside information from a friend in the know. However, it seems some folks were too excited to wait and put them on the shelves early.
A glance at Snickers' Twitter shows possible evidence of the collaboration brewing as far back as 2021. It also engaged in some funny related threads with other candy brands as far back as 2018.
TheStreet has reached out to Mars, Inc for comment on where else the BTS x Snickers collaboration will be sold.
How BTS Can Help Mars Inc.
BTS has drawn great investment interest in the last few years since parent company Hybe went public. While Hybe does not trade in the U.S. and only has a presence on the Korean Exchange, interested parties from countries outside Korea are able to purchase shares of its stock via a broker.
With close to 47 million followers on Twitter, BTS holds major sway over a faithful, passionate fanbase--or, from the business perspective, a captive audience of potential customers more than happy to spend money on products the band endorses.
Mars, Inc., which is known for its playful redesigns of its iconic packaging in recent years, surely has no trouble with sales of its candy. But while Snickers is certainly a classic all on its own, there's no better way to drive sales than to attract the attention of a fandom that adores its subjects as much as Army adores BTS.
