12
Feb
2025
The trending flavor can be seen gaining traction through launches across the retail and foodservice sector.
California Pizza Kitchen launched a Nashville-style pizza featuring hot honey. The pizza includes chicken, “Ranchito” sauce and mozzarella cheese topped with cayenne seasoning, dill pickles and Mike’s Hot Honey extra hot sauce.
Convenience chain 7-Eleven debuted two hot honey offerings at its Raise the Roost restaurant locations and two at its Speedy Café locations. Raise the Roost items include the chicken biscuit breakfast meal, featuring the brand’s double hand-breaded chicken tender, a home-style biscuit and a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey, and the chicken sandwich meal, with double hand-breaded chicken tenders, Mike’s Hot Honey and a brioche bun.
Speedy Café items include pepperoni pizza topped with Mike’s Hot Honey and boneless wings coated in the swicy condiment.
“We're always on the lookout for the next flavor craze that our fans love, and this sweet-and-spicy collab with Mike's Hot Honey is exactly that," said William Armstrong, senior vice president of restaurant operations at 7-Eleven, Inc.
Tennessee-based Bush’s Beans partnered with Mike’s Hot Honey to introduce two additions to Bush’s Grillin’ Beans line. Available in original and extra hot varieties, the sweet and spicy additions join the Grillin’ Beans portfolio that includes flavors such as bourbon and brown sugar.
“We are constantly looking at sales data and popular flavor profiles,” said Stephen Palacios, senior vice president of marketing and innovation for Bush’s Beans. “Hot honey is on the rise and is the leader in the ‘swicy’ movement. And who better to collaborate with than the originator of the term swicy?”
Honey supplier Local Hive added a range of hot honey offerings. The line features honey blended with a variety of peppers, with flavors like original, chipotle and sriracha.
Dunkin’ developed a line of spicy menu items created in partnership with Mike’s Hot Honey. The company’s hot honey bacon sandwich features hot honey bacon, egg, white cheddar cheese and a brioche bun topped with Mike’s Hot Honey sauce. The line also includes hot honey bacon wraps and hot honey bacon.
Culver’s unveiled hot honey cheese curds, a limited time offering developed in response to heat seeking consumers. The product puts a hot honey breading twist on Culver’s existing cheese curd recipe, according to the company.
“We've championed cheese curds for decades, and we're always looking for ways to deliver uniquely delicious curd experiences to our guests,” said Julie Fussner, chief marketing officer at Culver's.
Utz Brands launched Utz Mike’s Hot Honey Extra Hot potato chips as a permanent offering in its snacking portfolio. The companies initially partnered in 2023 to release a limited-edition run of Utz Mike’s Hot Honey chips, which was later made a permanent offering, and have since developed a formulation that is “three times hotter,” according to the company. The extra hot product is also gluten-free and kosher-certified.
“We know hot and spicy is currently the No. 1 flavor in salty snacks,” said Amber McGrogan, marketing director at Utz Brands, Inc. “That’s why, following the success of our original Mike’s Hot Honey potato chips, we wanted to offer fans an even hotter snacking option.”
Kellanova and Mike’s Hot Honey partnered to launch a Club Crackers variety inspired by Mike’s swicy condiment.
Feb
2025
More than 400 products were introduced at the annual event.
Launches over the last year include white chocolate cookies, Pop’ums pretzel snacks and more.