A new layer in Packers-Bears rivalry: Foam cheese grater hats

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – DJ Moore was mobbed by his teammates as he walked toward the middle of the locker room moments after the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime Dec. 20 to earn their 11th victory of the season.

Head coach Ben Johnson handed the ball to Moore — his second in as many weeks — and the receiver danced as Lil Wayne’s “Go DJ” was picked up over the mega speaker behind him.

The object atop Moore’s head swayed back and forth as the celebration began. It was symbolic. The 28-year-old receiver had just shredded Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon in the Soldier Field end zone while scoring a 46-yard touchdown in overtime to seal the Bears’ 22-16 victory.

So naturally, Moore sported a giant foam hat shaped like a cheese grater, a troll-worthy ode to the triangular yellow cheese heads worn by Packers fans for decades.

“I honestly didn’t know what it was until the next day,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I saw DJ wearing this in the locker room and I couldn’t tell what it was. But good for the guy, whoever did it. I’m sure he’s doing pretty good right now.”

Kmet is right. Business is booming for Foam Party Hats, the Houston-based company that created the cheese grater hats that have since gone viral.

Manuel Rojas, the company’s CEO and founder, woke up the morning after the Packers-Bears game to a barrage of emails and text messages with the video of Moore dancing while wearing a giant cheese grater on his head.

“Forgive my English, but it was an ‘oh shit’ moment,” Rojas said. “I knew it was going to be something really, really big.”

The foam party hats were born from the dream of Grace Rojas, Manuel’s mother, in their native Caracas, Venezuela. Grace designed and created each of the company’s 700 products by hand using cardboard, foam and a hot knife to bring her ideas to life.

What started as Grace’s desire to wear something fun and festive during the “Hora Loca” at her daughter’s wedding became a full-blown business venture after mother and son emigrated to the United States over 15 years ago. In 2017, Manuel used his mother’s vision to launch Foam Party Hats.

The company, which now has 23 full-time employees, saw great success during the COVID-19 pandemic when Grace and Manuel were invited to appear on the 12th season of “Shark Tank,” the popular television show in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to investors in hopes of getting capital and mentorship in exchange for equity in their business.

From cheese graters to giant bananas to giant Marie Antoinette wigs, Foam Party Hats has a design for every occasion. And it landed them in hot water several years ago when the Packers sent Foam Party Hats a cease and desist letter, claiming their cheesehead design was too similar to the branded hat sold by the team.

Instead of getting into a legal battle with an NFL franchise, Foam Party Hats focused its efforts on growing its inventory elsewhere, like with a cheese grater hat that quickly became a best-seller.

A day after Moore made the cheese grater hat go viral, quarterback Caleb Williams wore one while handing out boxes of food at his foundation’s Christmas event. Since then, Foam Party Hats have received over 7,000 orders from fans and several major retailers have contacted each other in hopes of distributing their product. The company has completely exhausted its stock of cheese graters and is out of stock until at least March.

And it’s not just Bears fans who have noticed. At least one Packers player got a glimpse of the hats expected to be at Soldier Field on Saturday night.

“It has nothing to do with me,” wide receiver Jayden Reed said.

As the Packers and Bears prepare for their third meeting this season and their third playoff meeting when Chicago hosts Green Bay in the wild-card round (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video), Rojas now has a vested interest in the matchup.

“After that, I’m a big Bears fan,” Rojas said. “I already got my DJ Moore jersey. I never had a reason to be a football fan because I didn’t grow up with it. [in Venezuela] or watch the games, but now I have an excuse to do it.”