The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods: August 16, 2024 edition

Welcome to The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods, a weekly roundup for marketers from Quad Insights that covers the latest must-know news surrounding the CPG space.

Canned water brand Liquid Death and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream just announced a collaboration that merges the flavor of a classic ice cream treat with, well, water, Bloomberg’s Kate Krader reports. The 20-calorie Liquid Death x Van Leeuwen Hot Fudge Sundae is the “first–ever flavored sparkling water that tastes just like chugging a hot fudge sundae,” per the Liquid Death website. It also marks the first time the brand has collaborated with another company on a new offering, Krader reports. Individual 19.2-ounce tallboy cans of Liquid Death x Van Leeuwen Hot Fudge Sundae are available for purchase at Van Leeuwen locations across the country and in multipacks on Liquid Death’s website.

Previously: “Van Leeuwen collaborates with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty on limited-edition ice cream,” from the July 19 edition of this column.

More experiential brand activations:

• “Mayo-crazed NFL quarterback inspires unique cologne scent” (CNN Business)
• “Oreo, Coca-Cola partner to create drink and cookie combining the iconic brands” (Marketing Dive)
• “Keurig and Green Day Teamed Up on a New Brewer Kit That’s the Most Punk Rock Thing We’ve Ever Seen” (Food & Wine)

Plant-based meat brand Impossible Foods just opened its first in-person dining experience at Chicago’s XMarket Foodhall. Called Impossible Quality Meats, the pop-up is designed around the brand’s plant-based beef, chicken and pork products and will include breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert items. It’ll be open through the fall, Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The move follows a spring refresh that saw Impossible updating its branding and packaging with a bolder look and feel to appeal to meat eaters, as we noted in the March 15 edition of this column.

Previously: “Impossible Foods previews its Impossible Ranch, where it will ‘make meat the new way,’” from the April 26 edition of this column.

More experiential brand activations:

• “Rice Krispies Treats Just Took Over an Entire Hotel Suite — and You Can Stay for Free” (Food & Wine)
• “Keystone Light Beer Brings Back ‘The Hunt’ To Win Hunting Gear” (MediaPost)
• “High Noon Is Offering A Chance To Play A Round Of Golf With J.R. Smith” (Forbes)
• “Aperol Brings Italian Flair to the US Open with Aperitivo Experience and Exclusive Merch” (stupidDOPE)

That’s the amount that snacking giant Mars just announced it will pay to acquire Kellogg spin-off company Kellanova, per NBC News. The acquisition will bring together Kellanova brands including Pringles, Pop-Tarts and Cheez-Its with Mars brands such as M&M’s and Snickers.

Coca-Cola Company–owned brand Vitaminwater launched a new campaign and giveaway this week focused on highlighting the brand’s “rainbow of flavors” while helping fans upgrade their living space, per a brand statement. “Paint Your Rent,” as the campaign is called, gives fans the chance to win free rent for a year and a custom design experience with interior design firm Havenly. Now through Aug. 27, consumers who take a photo of their favorite Vitaminwater flavor in a space in need of a “bright makeover” and text it with the word “rent” to 2653 will be entered to win. (You can also enter by visiting cokeurl.com/paintyourrent.) To provide some design inspiration, Havenly’s lead designer Kelsey Fischer curated five AI-generated mood boards based on the brand’s flavors to “show fans how Vitaminwater colors can be incorporated into their décor.”

More beverage brand campaigns:

• “Liquid I.V. helps consumers beat the summer heat with multichannel campaign” (Marketing Dive)
• “Bombay Sapphire Targets New Gin Drinkers In End Of Summer Campaign” (MediaPost)
• “Heineken’s US Open Marketing emphasizes zero-alcohol beer and moderation” (Ad Age)
• “Coors Banquet Taps Into ‘Yellowstone’ Fever With A Unique Proposal” (MediaPost)

Celebrity/influencer-driven CPG campaigns:

• “Nesquik Partners with DJ Khaled on ‘Another Bun’” (Trend Hunter)
• “Crown Royal Teams Up With NFL Wives and Girlfriends to Drop Ready-to-Drink Cherry Whisky Sour” (Bottle Raiders)
• “Gillette Teams with Xbox to Launch Gillette P1 Program with Forza” (Happi)
• “Lamorne Morris and Mike’s Hard Lemonade celebrate the hard job hustle, interview” (FoodSided)
• “Malibu teams with Tom Daley on safe drinking” (The Spirits Business)

More CPG launches and partnerships:

• “Campbell Soup debuts chunky burger-based soups” (Food Business News)
• “Califia unveils seasonal beverage products” (Food Business News)
• “Kar’s Nuts introduces co-branded trail mix line with M&M’s” (FoodBev Media)
• “Del Monte Foods launches Bubble Fruit Gel, combining fruit, popping boba and gel” (FoodBev Media)
• “Häagen-Dazs unveils Emily in Paris limited-edition ice cream” (Dairy Foods Magazine)