It’s not necessarily apparent when you’re watching it, but the hit YouTube show Hot Ones, where celebrities are interviewed over an increasingly spicy gauntlet of hot wings, is a Buzzfeed property now.
Buzzfeed got the show as part of its acquisition of Complex in 2021 for $300 million. The show – which has featured A-list stars like Sydney Sweeney, Conan O’Brien and Will Smith in hot pepper duress – has birthed countless memes and has found itself parodied and referenced in everything from feature films to SNL.
So, it’s immensely frustrating for the creators of Hot Ones that Buzzfeed isn’t shelling out any money for merchandise to grow the brand.
According to Bloomberg: “The team behind Hot Ones has grown frustrated with their owner, which they feel hasn’t given them the resources to invest in expanding the business of a hit show. They would like to build on their success with Hot Ones-branded hot sauces and create more consumer products, live events or media deals with other streaming services.”
Part of the problem is that Buzzfeed is reportedly short on cash. Bloomberg shared that Buzzfeed currently has more than $100 million debt, which holders can start asking to be paid in December of this year. Since going public in 2021, Buzzfeed shares have gone down 95%.
At the same time, the Hot Ones crew recognizes that their stock is rising. Celebrities are all too eager to use the platform as a humanizing marketing tool and means of reaching younger generations who aren’t watching network television. The creators are even putting it up for an Emmy award against the talk-show establishment trifecta of Fallon, Kimmel and Colbert.
Still, Buzzfeed won’t give the show substantial merchandising backing, even when some of its competitors in the entertainment space like Netflix have gone above and beyond for merchandising its titles, like Stranger Things, Emily in Paris, Bridgerton and more, with collaborations with well-known brands, immersive merchandise events in big-market cities, and even plans for permanent merchandise stores beginning next year.
The print and promo tie-ins for Hot Ones could be many. In addition to products like labels on Hot Ones-branded sauces and other food products, you have items like packaging for kits – which the brand already uses for its seasonal drops of hot sauces featured on the show – as well as apparel, drinkware and experiential marketing displays. Any Hot Ones-branded event could include signage, vehicle wraps, games and just about any other conceivable promotional product, including custom items that bring together the happening’s theme.
For merch purveyors, it may prove interesting to see how Buzzfeed navigates this. Will it recognize a potential growth opportunity and back the Hot Ones through marketing with show-branded products? Or, conversely, will it sell the “First We Feast” brand that Hot Ones is part of altogether and allow them to market themselves on their own?
[Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly claimed that Netflix purchased Complex, instead of Buzzfeed. It has been edited to correct this.]
