ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Foxtrot, an upscale convenience store retailer, has launched a collaboration with Chicago Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine on a new line of gummies, reports Eater Chicago.
“We let our No. 1 Gummy fan create the mix of their dreams—just so happens that our No. 1 fan is Basketball All-Star Zach LaVine,” said Foxtrot on its website. “We won’t take credit for his slam dunk wins, but no one has proven that a well-timed gummy break didn’t help with his vertical. So we gave him access to our gummy archive to create the mix of his wildest dreams.”
Each bag of gummies, called the Slam Dunk Gummy Mix, includes strawberry rolls, gummy sneakers, mixed skulls and raspberry puckers. The bag features the phrase “I want to be like Zach,” which was said by Bulls announcer Stacey King—a parody on the “I want to be like Mike” Gatorade commercial.
The gummies are available at Chicago Foxtrot locations in Wicker Park, West Loop, Gold Coast, Southport and East Lakeview. Foxtrot rewards members have exclusive access to an autographed bag of the gummies, which are available for delivery or pickup only.
Foxtrot currently operates locations in Austin, Chicago, Dallas and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and plans to expand to 100 stores by the end of 2024. Foxtrot, which offers 30-minute delivery and five-minute pickup, announced $100 million in Series C funding, in January, bringing total funding to $160 million.
Foxtrot launched in 2014 with an aim to “modernize the nostalgic corner store experience by creating a digital-first, e-commerce platform paired with a beautiful retail experience.” Foxtrot's operating model leverages retail stores as delivery hubs. Its five-minute market pickup has grown 250% this year, with cafe orders within the channel increasing 375% year to date. Customers order via an app, and the average order is $50.
Foxtrot’s specialty is private-label products. During the next year, Foxtrot plans to create and launch about 200 new private label SKUs. Since introducing private-label products one year ago, the assortment of Foxtrot-branded and -created labels now accounts for nearly 30% of all retail offerings and nearly half of all brick-and-mortar and online sales.