Olive Garden wants you to cool down with its innovative summer offering

Daily Mail​

25-06-2025

Cheesy noodles, saucy noodles, chicken and noodles — they're all staples at Olive Garden stores.
Now, the Italian-American pasta chain is hoping you'll spring for a very different kind: a pool noodle.
On Monday, the company dropped a limited-edition summer merch line featuring three pool floats shaped like some of its best-selling pasta dishes.
They're called the floatin' fettuccine, takin' it easy tortelloni, and relaxin' rigatoni.
The $40 floats go on sale to starting June 30 at 2pm ET on Olive Garden's website.
But fans who sign up for the brand's free eClub loyalty program can snag early access beginning June 26 at 10am.
'Olive Garden has always been known for going big — big portions, big value, and never-ending first courses,' Jaime Bunker, the senior vice president for the brand, said in a statement emailed to DailyMail.com.
'This summer, we're bringing that same spirit of abundance to the pool.'
The fettuccine-inspired float is flat, letting pool-goers sprawl out across it — like the chicken does on the entrée.
Meanwhile, the circular tortelloni and rigatoni floats are designed so you can nestle inside, like a scoop of sauce of cheese.
Any pool float purchase includes shipping and a cheeky bonus 'first course' — customers can choose between breadstick-themed bucket hats, soup-inspired totes, and lettuce-decorated floating drink holders.
'I don't know if I'll ever have a pool,' one customer commented on the company's Facebook page, 'but the intense feeling of need I have for the tortellini float cannot be put into words!'
Olive Garden is not the first food chain to memorialize its iconic products with a pool-based line.
Pop-Tart, Rice Krispie, Eggo, and Cheez-It all released pool toys that look like their snacks products.
They're available at Target and Walmart locations for $20.
In 2021, Panera launched a lineup of swim trunks and one-piece bathing suits, inspired by its food lineup.
One green Panera-inspired swimsuit just said 'SOUP' in block lettering.
Olive Garden's recent news
Founded in Orlando, Florida in 1982, Olive Garden has grown steadily to be a favorite for family meals.
In the restaurant industry, the chain held the top spot in US revenue since 2018.
That changed in April. A suddenly resurgent Texas Roadhouse, buoyed by an impressive social media campaign and low menu prices, snatched the revenue crown from the pasta brand for the first time in seven years.
Darden, Olive Garden's owner, has rolled out a series of programs to re-energize its sales.
Last year, it partnered with DoorDash and UberEats to provide online deliveries to nearby guests.
The brand ardently avoided the partnership for years.
While Olive Garden still remains profitable, some of its sister restaurants have run into troubles.
Bahama Breeze, one of the other Darden Restaurant chains, closed a third of its stores in mid-May.