Airports are stocking up on a hot World Cup souvenir: bottles of ranch dressing
World Cup spectators visiting the US have a new place to pick up ranch dressing.
Some airport stores located past the security checkpoints have started selling bottles of ranch dressing. The offering solves a problem for World Cup fans, enough of whom tried to get on planes with containers of the dressing that the Transportation Security Administration warned travelers not to pack it in their carry-on bags earlier this month.
Paradies Lagardère, which operates airport retailers, told Business Insider that it's selling the dressing at six airports, from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. All six airports are in cities that have hosted or are hosting World Cup games.
Andrew Schrank, a regional director at Paradies Lagardère, noticed that Ranch was gaining popularity with World Cup fans and pitched the idea of selling it, Justin Marlett, the company's director of strategic marketing, told Business Insider.
"While ranch isn't an official retail category for us, we're always looking for ways to meet customer demand and have a little fun with global events like this," Marlett said.
A Facebook post late last week from Philadelphia International Airport said that three stores at the airport would start selling eight-ounce bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch in light of demand from World Cup watchers.
"Did TSA take your liquid gold at security? We've got you covered!" the post reads.
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Videos on TikTok showed bottles of ranch for sale at airports elsewhere in the US. One appeared to show bottles of Hidden Valley ranch dressing for sale at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport alongside World Cup souvenirs. Another showed the dressing next to Texas-themed souvenirs.
Hidden Valley, the Clorox-owned brand that makes the dressing, is seeing a "noticeable lift in overall interest as ranch continues to go viral," Stacy Stokes, vice president of marketing at Hidden Valley Ranch, told Business Insider.
Ranch has become a fixation for some people visiting the US to watch World Cup games. Some have posted on social media proclaiming their love for the condiment and asking for companies that make it to distribute it abroad.
Hidden Valley is also running a "Ranch-bassador" program to promote the dressing in Europe this summer.
Other social media users have talked about alternative ways of taking Ranch home when they leave the US, including in bottles below the 3.4-ounce limit for carry-ons used by TSA. Any containers larger than that must be placed in checked luggage, according to the government agency.
Some people have also floated the idea of buying ranch powder.
Stokes said the brand plans to hand out tens of thousands of ranch seasoning packets over the next few weeks, including in several cities hosting World Cup events, such as New York and Dallas.
"We know traveling with bottled ranch can be difficult, so want to make sure visitors know they can bring our travel-friendly restaurant-style ranch seasoning packets with them instead to use and make fresh Hidden Valley Ranch at home," Stokes said.
Food brand Kraft, which makes its own version of the dressing, got in on the gag by posting an AI-generated image of small packets of "TSA Compliant Ranch" on Instagram.
"This image was partially generated with AI. We're working on the real thing," the caption reads.
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