International soccer fans who traveled to the United States for the World Cup have found a new way to take home the sauce that won them over: bottles of ranch dressing now sold at duty-free shops past airport security checkpoints.
The solution followed a wave of enthusiasm among soccer fans over the American dressing, prompting the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, to warn passengers not to try to bring bottles of sauce in their carry-on bags.
The ranch that drives World Cup fans crazy
(From Kraft Sauces Instagram page)
Paradies Lagardère, which operates airport stores across the U.S., is now selling bottles of Hidden Valley ranch dressing at six airports, from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. All six airports are in cities that have hosted or are hosting World Cup matches.
Philadelphia International Airport announced last week on Facebook that three shops at the airport would begin selling bottles of Hidden Valley ranch dressing in response to demand from soccer fans. TikTok videos showed bottles of ranch being sold at other airports across the U.S., including New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, alongside World Cup souvenirs.
For some visitors, ranch has become a full-blown obsession. Fans have posted declarations of love for the dressing on social media and called on the companies that produce it to make it more widely available outside the United States.
Because passengers are barred from bringing large containers of liquids in carry-on luggage, some looked for other ways to transport the sauce, including in small packets. One ranch brand said it plans to hand out tens of thousands of packets in the coming weeks, mainly in World Cup host cities such as New York and Dallas, so travelers can make fresh ranch at home.
Kraft, which makes its own version of ranch dressing, also joined the joke. The company posted an AI-generated image on Instagram showing “TSA Compliant Ranch” packets, while noting that the image was partly AI-generated and that it was working on the real product.