The Weirdest Hidden Valley Ranch Products, Explained

Hidden Valley recently announced a limited-edition brand collaboration with Burt's Bees. If you know what Burt's Bees is, that news might give you some pause, since the brand (owned by Clorox) specializes in personal care products like lip balm. Yep, Burt's Bees and Hidden Valley have released a four-pack of Buffalo-wing-inspired scented lip balms, including Buffalo Sauce, Crunchy Celery, Fresh Carrot, and, of course, Hidden Valley Ranch varieties. The product is currently available on the Burt's Bees website for $11.99.

Normally, this would cause some of us to start shouting and running around in circles, but honestly, at this point, we've gotten used to Hidden Valley's antics. For years now, the brand seems to have found every way possible to capitalize on the public's obsession with ranch dressing, all with a sense of humor. The result has been a series of marketing campaigns centered around some pretty bizarre, headline-grabbing products. Let's look back at some of Hidden Valley's weirdest ranch-centric products.

In March 2023, Hidden Valley Ranch and ice cream maker Van Leeuwen came together to make a ranch-flavored ice cream. Let me go on record to say that this item broke Takeout records, with more friends and family demanding a taste test than ever before. So many people were morbidly fascinated by this flavor combination, even though Van Leeuwen had already done some oddball ice cream stunts with Kraft Mac & Cheese and Grey Poupon.

Thankfully, it wasn't entirely vile, but it did leave us with the unusual (and unwelcome) aftertaste of garlic and onion, something you usually don't associate with the flavor of otherwise perfectly good vanilla ice cream. This pint was nationally available at Walmart locations—meaning that anyone could try it, not just unlucky food writers.

If you've ever wanted to express your love of Hidden Valley Ranch in the form of fine jewelry, there's a ring out there for you. In 2022, a professional diamond maker used specialized lab equipment to heat Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning powder all the way up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, then crushed it with 400 tons of pressure. Five months later, the result was a glittering diamond, which was then cut and set into a 14-karat gold band inscribed with the letters "HVR LVR."

Yes, the brand has made a concerted effort in recent years to make "HVR" happen—that's shorthand for "Hidden Valley Ranch."

In late 2023, Hidden Valley declared it would be collaborating with... itself. That probably doesn't actually count as a collaboration, now that we think about it. The company designed an unusual dual ranch dressing bottle that conjoined two bottles at the neck, criss-crossing and intersecting to create an "X" shape.

The bottles were only available for purchase via a customized augmented reality Snapchat lens. Modern times are wild. However, Hidden Valley did send a sample bottle to our offices, and it was about as odd-looking as I just described it above. Thankfully, the dressing it contained was the same classic product.

In 2021, Hidden Valley partnered with lifestyle brand Whiskey and Rosemary to create the Holiday RanchNog Kit. It retailed for $50 and came with two glasses, a gold jigger, Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets, and instructions on how to create your own sippin' RanchNog. The company described the resulting drink as one that "marries the creamy, slightly sweet elements of eggnog with the savory, cool and herby flavors of ranch."

For the record, I did not taste this product. I'm guessing I did myself a favor by avoiding it.

Not everything's a stunt, however. Hidden Valley has also been up to some pretty normal(ish) brand mashups in recent years. Currently you can enjoy a bag of Hidden Valley Ranch–flavored Bugles, and the brand also collaborated with Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard to create a Ranch Chili Crunch condiment that has since sold out. HVR partnered with hot sauce maker Truff to create a limited-edition spicy truffle ranch dressing in late 2022. You can even enjoy popcorn seasoned with Hidden Valley at AMC Theatres for a limited time.

Love it or hate it, ranch dressing will always be a part of American culture, and I have a feeling we haven't seen the end of the stunts that Hidden Valley is going to pull. Ranch-flavored lip balm is just another feather in the company's cap.