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.

Guinness and Ancestry partner to help fans discover ties to brewery’s past

In the lead-up to St. Patrick’s Day, Guinness and Ancestry have partnered to give fans the chance “to discover if Ireland’s most iconic brewery is part of their family legacy,” per an Ancestry statement. With more than 1.6 million historical records from the Guinness Storehouse archives now digitized, individuals can visit Ancestry.com/Guinness to see if they have family ties to the company’s historic Dublin, Ireland St. James’s Gate Brewery. Site visitors who enter a grandparent’s name and where they might have lived may learn potential details of their ancestors’ lives — such as their home address, specific job and how much money they made at that time — if it turns out they worked for Guinness. Records span the years 1799 to 1939 — “when Guinness was the largest single private employer in Ireland,” per the statement — and are free for anyone to access through March 22.

The takeaway: Using St. Patty’s Day as a backdrop, Guinness is leaning into its long, rich history to forge connections with fans by connecting them with their own history.

Impossible Foods unveils new bold packaging to appeal to meat-eaters

Plant-based meat brand Impossible Foods this week announced new branding and packaging aimed at capturing the “craveability of meat” to appeal to meat eaters, per Vegconomist. Unveiled at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California, the new brand identity embraces a bolder look and feel, with red being the primary color. The choice of hue was informed by research suggesting that red packaging is “particularly effective in nudging consumers toward plant-based options,” Vegconomist reports, as the brand claims that 90% of its customers are meat-eaters. While the official launch date has yet to be announced, new packaging will soon begin rolling out in the U.S., starting with the Impossible Beef Hot Dog.

The takeaway: Impossible Foods is looking to break out of the plant-based meat-alternative category and compete directly with the real thing with this bold redesign.

Coors Light encourages March Madness fans to “chill” with advent-style calendar

To encourage fans to “choose chill” during college basketball’s most-anticipated — and stressful — three weeks of the year (i.e., March Madness), Coors Light just released a limited-edition “Countdown to Chill Calendar.” Based on the 1-to-120.2 billion odds of having a perfect bracket, the 21-day advent-inspired calendar brings some much-needed “chill” to the event with a unique gift for each day of the tournament, including a serving of “Chill Tea” for when “emotions are hot” and press-on nails from Dashing Diva for all the “nail-biting moments.” The Molson Coors-owned brand released 100 of the “Countdown to Chill Calendars” — which sold out almost immediately — on its website on Monday for $21 each (in honor of the 21-day tournament).

The takeaway: This limited-edition drop is obviously meant to garner social buzz — and help draw attention to Coors Light’s larger “Don’t Let Your Bracket Break You” campaign, which includes “chill” giveaways including custom Coors Light sneakers, ESPN+ subscriptions and other brand swag.

Related news:

Sharpie and Paper Mate kick off campaign with Mindy Kaling at SXSW

Sharpie and Paper Mate — both part of the Newell Brands portfolio — have partnered with actress Mindy Kaling for a new campaign titled “Let’s Get Creative,” per a company statement. The campaign is based on a recent survey designed to “identify the state of creativity in America.” Among the findings: While 78% of respondents identify themselves as “creative,” nearly as many say that finding time to be creative is challenging and that they “wish they engaged in creative activities more often.” With a focus on breaking down the barriers to creativity, the “Let’s Get Creative” campaign kicked off this week at South by Southwest (SXSW) with an interactive Sharpie Studio, where Newell debuted its new Sharpie Creative Markers and Paper Mate InkJoy Gel Bright! Pens, and hosted a Q-and-A with Kaling in which she shared insights into her creative process.

The takeaway: Known for attracting creators from all sectors, SXSW provided the perfect stage for a Sharpie-Paper Mate collaboration with the delightfully creative Mindy Kaling.

Further reading

CPG innovations:

CPG product launches and collabs:

CPG campaigns:

CPG operations and expansions:

, , ,

Share this