The New Jersey Fives And Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Bring Fibermaxxing To The Mid-Season Major League Pickleball Tournament

The 1st place "Fibes" enjoying a bowl of Raisin Bran. From L-R Jorja Johnson, Noe Khlif, Anna Leigh Waters, and Will Howells.

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With a win in their Major League Pickleball event on Randall’s Island in NYC two weekends ago, the New Jersey 5’s moved into first-place in the league just in time to secure the top seed in this year’s MLP mid-season tournament, held alongside the legendary Beer City Open at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This year, the New Jersey franchise will be doing more than competing for the first-place trophy in Michigan; they’re teaming up with one of the great brands in the USA, the Michigan based-W.K. Kellogg company and their famous Raisin Bran cereal to help raise awareness and become part of the brand’s ongoing fiber and “gut health” mission.

For just this coming weekend, the 1st place New Jersey team will become the “New Jersey Fibes” in a first-of-its kind collaboration for any MLP property, and per Ryan Harwood (New Jersey co-owner and General Manager), “one of the best partnerships in MLP history.”

Per the parties’ collective press release, fans traveling to Grand Rapids this coming week will “experience The Fibes live and in-person through player integrations, interactive experiences and programming inspired by one of pickleball’s most iconic locations - the kitchen.” Kellogg will be providing “Sunny," the Raisin Bran mascot, for onsite photo ops. The team and the brand will have fun with this all weekend, with T-Shirt giveaways, cereal samples, and of course meet and greets with the stars of the New Jersey team, including No. 1 ranked female Anna Leigh Waters and her teammates Jorja Johnson, Noe Khlif, Will Howells, Captain Martin Emmrich and Lina Padegimaite.

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Per Doug VanDeVelde, Chief Growth Officer, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran. "Pickleball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, with a passionate community that loves to participate and have fun. Partnering with the New Jersey 5s to become The Fibes gives us a playful, unexpected way to put fiber in the spotlight and bring the conversation to fans both on and off the court."

This kind of partnership also shows a pathway forward for MLP teams seeking additional revenue streams, especially from major companies. The New Jersey Fives have been at the forefront of this effort, now counting multiple Fortune 1000 companies as partners, and is one of the few franchises pushing the envelope in terms of creativity and uniqueness. It is clear they feel confident in delivering these types of partnerships because of their rabid fanbase ("1-2-3-4 … Fives!") and engagement with traveling fans to every MLP location. It is this kind of deal that brings in the additional revenue sources that will help make the league profitable in the future.

This kind of brand collaboration is something that companies sometimes explore for special events or as part of advertising campaigns, and the impact can be long-lasting. In 2018, the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) temporarily renamed itself to be the International House of Burgers (IHOb) in a promotional campaign designed to promote its sandwich offerings. They eventually “changed the name back” after a few months, and IHOP kept on churning, but the memory lives on a decade later. I personally have not been in an IHOP in 20 years, but certainly remember the campaign, which is the point of any marketing endeavor.

It also got me thinking…. what other interesting brand collaborations could existing MLP teams pursue? Just off the top of my head, I came up with a few; feel free to Venmo me my commission checks :-)

• Atlanta Budweiser’s: I mean, they’re already owned by the Anheuser-Busch company; this one writes itself.
• Bay Area Break Dancers: we find a Break Dancing troupe to sponsor the team, and all the starters come out in-between games doing the worm and the Robot. Am I showing my age that I immediately went to “the worm” when thinking of break dancing?
• Brooklyn Bridges: the team partners with the NY/NJ Port Authority and gives out now-obsolete subway tokens to kids.
• California returns to its original brand collaboration with BLQK coffee, and the team sips espresso during timeouts.
• Carolina Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs: I mean, what’s better than the Weiner-mobile at an event? Even my kid knows what that is. I suppose the “Hogs” moniker also lends itself to any one of the 100s of BBQ joints in the Carolinas. How about the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches?
• Chicago Slice is an easy one: they become the Pizzeria Uno Slices for the weekend, commemorating the leading deep-dish pizza chain in the land.
• Columbus Sliders are already named after a food, so make it official: the Columbus White Castle Sliders.
• Dallas Flash become the Dallas Cash-Now loans, partnering with one of the many paycheck/same-day loan shops out there, though this probably isn’t the kind of partner the league is pursuing.
• Florida Smash Burgers; this was too easy. Plus, I gotta say, I like a smash burger.
• LA Mad Throat Drops, for those days when your throat is a little sore and you need a lozenge.
• Las Vegas Night Bail Bondsmen, celebrating the industry of bailing out frat boys who let loose a bit too much in Vegas.
• Miami Pickleball Club is a tough one, still needing a moniker instead of the generic “Pickleball club.” Johnny Goldberg: let’s get on this. How about the Miami Carnival Cruises, since half the cruise ships in the world pass through the Miami harbor?
• Orlando Squeeze has to have some tie-in to Oranges or orange juice, right? The Orlando Tropicana semi-pulp Vitamin D Orange Juicers. You can’t go full pulp; that’s just gross. But you need a little pulp else you’re just drinking orange soda, amiright?
• Palm Beach Royals: How about the Palm Beach Crown Royals! Hey, they’re already in Florida, why not just take it a step further to add in a favored drink of the retired community.
• Phoenix Flame-Broiled Burgers by Burger King. Of course.
• SoCal Pechangas, named after a casino in Temecula, which does indeed have table games where you can put some money down on throwing a “Hard Eight” at the craps tables.
• St. Louis Shock continue the alcohol theme and partner with the Shock Top Brewery, owned by Tilray Brands and acquired from Anheuser-Busch in 2023. The “St. Louis Shock Tops!"
• Texas Ranchers call up Taylor Sheridan and all get guest spots on one of his many cowboy-based Paramount+ shows; the Texas Dutton Ranchers.
• Utah Black Diamonds partner with the Park City ski resort to become the Utah Ski Bums for a weekend. We skied at Park City earlier this year and were big fans.

I’m sure I missed some obvious ones; feel free to add your own in the comments.

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Post publish update: I corrected the Shock Top beer ownership reference; they were acquired in 2023.