Butter is Having a Moment
And why artists and creators need to think like brands
Lately, every time I log onto LinkedIn, I see an artist from my connections—who goes by @HelloAdrienne—promoting her collaboration with Kerrygold butter. Yes, butter. Adrienne created custom illustrations featuring Kerrygold branding and various butter-related icons, which became a sticker pack and other merch offered to Kerrygold “butter club” members.
For the past several years, I’ve watched packaged goods brands lean into licensing more than ever before. Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream. Doritos tequila. Frosted Flakes eyeshadow. It’s all about leveraging flavor nostalgia and shock value. Meanwhile, newer food and beverage brands like Erewhon have tapped celebrities like Hailey Bieber and influencers to create viral smoothies. But what I’ve been waiting for—and what Adrienne’s collaboration with Kerrygold signals—is a bigger opportunity for artists and designers to elevate packaged goods. After all, isn’t it all about the packaging?
It’s Butter Yellow’s Time to Shine
Before I explain why this matters for creatives, let’s discuss the butter-yellow trend. This shade popped up in Summer 2024, and is now popping off in 2025 - and it’s spreading everywhere. But this isn’t just about a trending hue—it’s about how brands use these trends and cultural moments to tell a story, build community, and drive engagement.
Think about Bachelor alum Bekah Martinez’s collab with Double Soul and the retro butter socks they cannot keep in stock. Or the fact that Kerrygold launched a denim collaboration this week. When was the last time you saw a butter brand crossing over into fashion? That’s licensing.
For artists, designers, and content creators, this isn’t just a color trend—it’s a case study of how notoriously basic and boring packaged goods brands are getting creative with collaborations. The question for creatives: How are you positioning yourself to be part of the conversation?
You Have to Give Marketers a Reason to Find You
One of my most viral TikTok posts was about the Walmart vintage-inspired heart-shaped cake that had TikTok bakers freaking out over Valentine’s Day. For the past few years, local specialty bakers have been frosting vintage-inspired cakes on TikTok and making a killing by charging $100 for one of these TikTok-famous cakes. Walmart, realizing that it has been selling this same style of cake for decades for $20, decided to launch a similar social campaign using its own bakers.
And here’s the thing: Most of these bakers missed the opportunity - they measure their value by how many orders they get from content sharing. But what if, instead, one of them realized the value of their creativity and community and pitched Walmart, Publix, or Entenmann’s on a collaboration? What if they positioned themselves as the creative force behind a trending product line and social campaign?
This brings me back to Hello Adrienne.
Adrienne’s niche focus on food illustration and her eye-catching, hand-painted "pasta pants" helped her land big-name packaged goods collaborations with trendy canned fish brand Fish Wife and Grillo pickles. She’s not just sharing her work—she’s creating a brand around it. And this is the part I need artists to understand:
You need to be leveraging social media. Period. Instagram, yes. But also LinkedIn. I never would have discovered Adrienne’s Kerrygold collab if I hadn’t seen her post about it on LinkedIn.
You need to know your brand and communicate your value. It’s not enough to have a portfolio—you need to know and believe in your value. In 20+ years, I’ve never had an artist proactively pitch me on their value. That’s why I created Office Hours and coaching services: to help artists look beyond the portfolio and think like a brand.
The takeaway? Brands need artists. And the ones who get the biggest deals are the ones who:
Have a strong, distinct brand (like Adrienne’s food-focused illustrations)
Position themselves as creative partners, not just service providers
Use social media strategically to get in front of decision-makers
If you’re an artist, baker, designer, or creative, and you haven’t started thinking about this, maybe it’s time. And if you need help figuring out your brand, your pitch, or how to get in front of the right brands, you know where to find me.
Love how you explain things. You rock!