Inspire Brands Debuts Nine Exclusive Food and Beverage Collabs to Honor Nine Variety Power of Comedy Award Winners at SXSW

Inspire Brands partners with Variety and the SXSW Festival for a first-of-its kind culinary event

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Comedic icons and powerhouse food brands are coming together at this year's highly sought-after Variety Power of Comedy event. Inspire Brands will be unveiling nine exclusive food and beverage collabs on March 10 at The Creek & The Cave in Austin, Texas during the SXSW Festival. This marks the first-time ever Inspire Brands have come together to create never-seen-before food and beverage collaborations, highlighting items across the entire portfolio.

Have you ever dreamed of mixing Baskin-Robbins ice cream with boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings for a mouthwatering sweet and savory dish? Or combining flavors from Arby's and Jimmy John's to create an epic roast beef sandwich? What would happen if Dunkin's iconic donut glaze was added to a salty treat from SONIC Drive-In? VIP attendees will get a taste of this one-time, soon-to-be iconic menu, among other brand favorites.

Food and beverage offerings include:

• Spit Roasted Gyro Tots: Crispy SONIC Drive-In Tater Tots loaded with Arby's Gyro Meat, Cheese, and Tzatziki Sauce
• Chicken & Waffle Ice Cream Cup: Baskin-Robbins Chick'n & Waffle Ice Cream (the brand's March Flavor of the Month) topped with a Buffalo Wild Wings Boneless Wing in their NEW Honey Garlic Sauce
• Roasted "Elote" Style Corndog: Buffalo Wild Wings Roasted Green Chili Queso, Chipotle Lime Crema, Jimmy Peppers, Cilantro Corn, Buffalo Wild Wings Cotija, and smoked Paprika all topped on a delicious SONIC Drive-In mini corn dog bite
• Warm Sweet Glazed Pretzel Twist: SONIC Drive-In mouthwatering Soft Pretzel Twist bite dipped in Dunkin' Donut Glaze
• Double Roast Beef and Horseradish Club: Jimmy John's French bread, provolone, hand sliced double roast beef, lettuce, tomato, and Arby's delicious horseradish sauce
• Hatch Green Chile Margarita: Don Julio Silver Tequila or Dos Hombres Mezcal, shaken with lime juice and Buffalo Wild Wings Hatch Chile simple syrup, poured over muddle Hatch Green Chiles, and garnished with Jimmy Peppers
• Jamocha Espresso Martini: Tito's Vodka & Kahlua shaken with creamy Dunkin' Espresso, garnished with espresso beans, and drizzled with Arby's fan favorite Jamocha Shake syrup
• Cold Brew Old Fashioned: Buffalo Wild Wings own Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Bourbon, Dunkin' Brown Sugar Syrup, Black Walnut Bitters, and a splash of smooth Dunkin' Cold Brew, stirred and garnished with a Dunkin' Old Fashioned Munchkin
• Pickles + Fries: Arby's Curly Fry Vodka infused with Jimmy John's Pickle Juice, muddled with simple syrup, cucumber, mint, topped off with lemonade, and garnished with an iconic Jimmy John's pickle slice

"We are thrilled to be a part of Variety Power of Comedy. Only Inspire Brands can do something like this at SXSW," said Rita Patel, Chief Marketing Officer at Arby's. "On behalf of all the marketing leads, we are excited to showcase our innovative culinary teams with an exclusive menu of food and beverage mashups across six iconic brands: Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's and SONIC Drive-In."

Hosted by Mike Lawrence and Nick Thune, Variety Power of Comedy will award comedic performers for their outstanding achievements across stand-up, film, TV, and digital platforms. This year's honorees are Eric André, Cult Favorite; Phoebe Robinson, Comedy Innovator; Jake Johnson, Comedy Director; Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Sketch Comedy; Rachel Sennott, Breakthrough Artist; Anna Kendrick, Comedy Actress; Patton Oswalt, Stand-up Comic; Chelsea Handler, Comedy Icon. The event will also feature special appearances from Bob Odenkirk and Reggie Watts.

The first-ever Inspire Brands food and beverage collaborations will exclusively be available at Variety Power of Comedy on March 10 at The Creek & The Cave in Austin, Texas during SXSW. The event is open to SXSW ticket holders. Follow throughout the night across @InspireBrands social channels: @Arbys, @BaskinRobbins, @BWWings, @Dunkin, @JimmyJohns and @SONICdrivein.

ABOUT INSPIRE BRANDS
Inspire Brands is a multi-brand restaurant company whose current portfolio includes more than 32,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC Drive-In locations worldwide. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit InspireBrands.com.

ABOUT VARIETY
Variety is the seminal voice of the entertainment industry. After 117 years of award-winning breaking news reporting, insightful award-season coverage, must-read feature spotlights, and intelligent analysis of the industry's most prominent players, Variety is the most trusted source for the business of global entertainment. Read by a highly engaged audience of industry insiders, aspirants and passionate entertainment enthusiasts, Variety's multi-platform content coverage expands across digital, mobile, social, print, podcasts, branded content, events, and summits.

In May 2019, Variety's "Actors on Actors" on PBS took home a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award and has been awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the 67th and 68th Emmy Awards. "Actors on Actors," an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, was produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC. Follow Variety on Facebook facebook.com/variety; Twitter, @variety; Instagram, @Variety The Variety Group – Variety, Variety.com, Variety Insight, Indiewire, – is owned by Variety Media, LLC, a division of Penske Media Corporation.

CONTACT:
Alison Brod Marketing & Communications
[email protected] 

SOURCE Inspire Brands