Jason Kelce is in the fragrance zone.
The 37-year-old former NFL player has officially partnered with charcoal grilling brand Kingsford to launch its inaugural scent, Slow Burn. Available now, the “gourmand-smoke” fine fragrance is packaged in a black bottle with a football-shaped top; it’s price, $30.62, a nod to Kelce’s old jersey number. The scent combines notes of charred hardwood, carbon clove, saw dust and powder smolder to achieve an aroma similar to that of a smoky old fashioned.
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“Kingsford has spent over a century perfecting the art of charcoal grilling, so who better to create the first charcoal-inspired fragrance?” Mitchell O’Furey, head of marketing at Kingsford, said in the official press release. “With Slow Burn, we’ve captured the backyard experience of grilling in a fragrance that’s not only bold, fun and quintessentially Kingsford but stokes that neighbor envy with the smoky smell.”
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Kingsford's new Slow Burn fragrance, a scent inspired by its heritage charcoal.
Kingsford’s new Slow Burn fragrance, a scent inspired by its heritage charcoal. Kingsford
As a self-proclaimed barbecue connoisseur, Kelce was an avid fan and customer of Kingsford’s long before his partnership with the brand, which, up until now, has only included the promotion of grilling supplies and his own saucy recipes. The fragrance collaboration wasn’t necessarily in his post-football career playbook, especially since he’s always been more of a deodorant guy.
“I’ve never put a lot of thought into fragrance. I usually go with the same deodorant I always have,” he told WWD at the Slow Burn launch party in New York. “I think one of the reasons is that a lot of the fragrances around don’t elicit much other than it’s a good smell or it’s a bad smell.”
For Kelce to like a fragrance, he has to connect with it. “If I smell something that makes me think of a person, a place or a thing, then I tend to like that smell,” he explained. “Charcoal is a very vivid scent in a lot of the meaningful moments of my life, whether it’s sporting events, holidays, my dad, all these things really resonate with it.”
To that end, Slow Burn is like nostalgia in a bottle, Kelce said. It also doesn’t stain your beard with the all-too-familiar stench of burning wood, which is something his wife, Kylie, appreciates. Slow Burn is a “scent you can control,” one that can be layered, he noted.
Jason Kelce at the Slow Burn launch party in New York City.
Jason Kelce at the Slow Burn launch party in New York City. Kingsford
While the scent certainly has his, the retired Philadelphia Eagles center is curious whether the Kingsford fragrance will get his brother’s stamp of approval.
“Travis is definitely the one who’s always had the different colognes lined up on his dresser. He’s been like that his whole life,” Kelce said of the Kansas City Chiefs player. “He has his idea for fashion, fragrance, all of it. He’s very well-versed.”
Kelce isn’t too worried about what his four kids will think of the scent; they’re too busy, anyway. He might just wear it to one of their birthday parties, if there’s a grill going.