Date: Fall 2005
Headline: Cooking Up New Themes: Artists add their flair to personalized products
By: Nick Krewen

"If you're looking to satisfy the carnivore within, then a serving of Dwight Yoakam's comforting Chicken Lickin's Chicken Fries, lovingly smothered in Kinky Friedman's Private Stock Salsa and chased with a glass of Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Tequila, might do the trick.

Whether their products are in your local supermarket or marketed as a Web site specialty item, these musical multitaskers are hoping to parlay their celebrity stature into profitable ventures.

And if you're a celebrity trying to break a product into the mainstream supermarket chain, the advantage of having a famous name associated with your brand is considerable, says John Marburger, president and CEO of Peru, Ind.-based Modern Foods, home to the Dwight Yoakam Bakersfield Biscuits brand that includes Boom Boom Shrimp and Chicken Lickin's.

"The main reason is product differentiation," noted Marburger, who says Yoakam products are currently available in more than 5,000 stores. "For us, the consumer has a lot of choices nowadays. This gives us a way to break through the noise and differentiate ourselves from others." "