PopUp Bagels is putting a taste of Thanksgiving on its bagels for two weeks. Starting Nov. 12, every PopUp Bagels location nationwide is serving a limited-edition Cranberry Orange Butter made with Ocean Spray sweetened dried cranberries, and the spread stays on the menu through Nov. 26.
The schmear blends the dried cranberries with orange notes and a hint of cinnamon. Early visitors on launch day can also leave with a tiny souvenir: a mini pair of the waders cranberry farmers wear in the bogs.
What the Cranberry Orange Butter Is
Ocean Spray and PopUp Bagels announced the collaboration on Nov. 11, 2026, from Boston, in a joint release distributed through PR Newswire. According to the companies, the spread was created exclusively by PopUp Bagels and combines Ocean Spray sweetened dried cranberries with orange and a touch of cinnamon.
It is a sequel. This is the second year of the partnership, and last year’s Cranberry Butter returns with an orange twist, the companies said. PopUp Bagels founder Adam Goldberg said customers kept asking about the cranberry butter after it left the menu last year, which led to its return, and he described the new version as tasting “like Thanksgiving morning.”
The release did not list a price for the spread. It will be available at all PopUp Bagels locations from Nov. 12 through Nov. 26, the day of Thanksgiving.
Cranberry and orange is a pairing with plenty of holiday-breakfast company. Frenzhub has a list of breakfast classics that deserve a comeback, and for those hosting a morning crowd at home, these creative coffee bar ideas pair naturally with a spread of bagels.
The Mini Bagel Waders Giveaway
The more unusual part of the launch is the merchandise. Ocean Spray is handing out mini “Bagel Waders,” bagel-sized versions of the waders its farmers wear during the cranberry harvest. According to the release, they can be clipped onto keys, hung as a holiday ornament or used as a bag charm.
Supplies are tight. The release says the first 37 guests at PopUp Bagels locations on Nov. 12 will receive a pair, while supplies last. Anyone hoping to snag one will want to arrive early on launch day.
The waders nod to how most cranberries are actually harvested. Growers flood the beds with about 6 to 8 inches of water above the vines, then drive a harvester through to knock the berries loose, according to Wikipedia’s entry on the cranberry. The berries float, and workers herd them into a corner of the bog to be pumped or conveyed out. Harvest runs from about September through the first part of November, which puts the PopUp launch right at the end of the season.
A New York Sandwich Exclusive
The collaboration also has a sit-down component in New York City. From Nov. 12 to 26, Fairfax, the restaurant at 234 W. 4th St., is offering two limited-time bagel sandwiches served with Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce: a Duck Confit Turkey PopUp Bagel Sandwich and a Homemade Sausage PopUp Bagel Sandwich, according to the release.
Cranberry sauce itself is a fixture of the holiday. Cranberries are often cooked into a compote or jelly that is traditionally served with roast turkey at Thanksgiving in the U.S. and Canada, according to Wikipedia. Craftingyourhome.com has a look at the other dishes that make the cut in its list of Thanksgiving table classics that have been on American tables for generations, and dessert gets its own rundown in the pies that show up on Thanksgiving tables across America.
Home cooks juggling the oven on the big day may also find help in this comparison of countertop air fryers and toaster ovens that free up the oven at Thanksgiving, handy for warming bagels while the turkey roasts.
The Companies Behind the Spread
Ocean Spray dates to 1930, when three cranberry growers founded it as Cranberry Canners, Inc., in Hanson, Massachusetts, according to Wikipedia’s history of the Ocean Spray cooperative. It remains an agricultural cooperative owned by its member growers, and the company says it has roughly 700 farmer families in the United States, Canada and Chile. Its cranberries appear in more than a thousand products sold in over 100 countries, according to the release.
Eliza Sadler, Ocean Spray’s head of brand elevation, said in the release that the company likes to show off the cranberry’s versatility and bring the brand to “playful, unexpected places.”
PopUp Bagels is much younger. Goldberg and Jeff Lewis founded it in 2020 in Westport, Connecticut, where it began as a pandemic baking hobby, according to Wikipedia’s entry on PopUp Bagels. The pair switched from sourdough to bagels when summer heat made bread baking impractical, gave the bagels to friends and family, and turned steady demand into a business. The chain has since expanded nationwide.
Why Cream Cheese Is the Canvas
Flavored schmears are a natural fit for seasonal launches because the base is so simple. American cream cheese traces to the 1870s, when dairyman William A. Lawrence of Chester, New York, began mass-producing it, according to Wikipedia’s entry on cream cheese. The same entry notes that cream cheese is the basis of the bagel-and-cream-cheese sandwich long associated with New York City.
For PopUp Bagels fans, the window is short. The Cranberry Orange Butter is available at every location from Nov. 12 through Nov. 26, and the mini waders go to the first 37 guests at PopUp Bagels locations on opening day, while supplies last.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Daderot – CC0/Wikimedia Commons
