McCormick & Company is releasing two limited-edition collectible tins under its OLD BAY brand, timed to the start of Maryland's crab season and the 151st Preakness Stakes on May 17. The packaging push also features a design created in collaboration with students from the Maryland Institute College of Art, marking the Chesapeake Bay seasoning's return to its iconic original tin format.
The dual-tin strategy represents McCormick's latest attempt to convert a pantry staple into a premium, collectible retail item — a tactic that has gained traction across the spice and condiment category as manufacturers seek to drive full-price sell-through and social-media visibility without discounting. McCormick does not break out OLD BAY as a discrete revenue line, but the brand sits within the company's Consumer segment, which generated $2.84 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended November 2025.
The Preakness Stakes tie-in gives McCormick a regional media platform with national broadcast reach, while the MICA partnership positions the brand within Baltimore's creative economy — a dual-channel play that targets both casual sports viewers and design-conscious consumers. Limited-edition packaging collaborations have become a reliable lever for food manufacturers looking to generate earned media and justify modest price premiums at shelf.
The releases arrive as McCormick navigates an uneven consumer environment. In its most recent quarterly results, the Hunt Valley, Maryland-based company flagged cautious consumer spending as a headwind to volume growth in its retail spice and seasoning lines, even as pricing actions supported net sales figures. The collectible tin format, which commands a higher suggested retail price than standard paperboard canisters, may help offset some of that volume pressure in the near term.
The broader seasoning and spice market has seen renewed interest in heritage packaging, with brands from Lea & Perrins to Tabasco leaning into retro formats to differentiate against private-label competition. For McCormick, whose portfolio strategy has centered on brand equity and innovation, the OLD BAY tins serve as a low-capital-intensity product extension that reinforces regional identity at a moment when local provenance continues to resonate with consumers.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
