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.
Sour Patch Kids’ new campaign helps Gen Z decipher cryptic office emails
Sour Patch Kids just launched “Sour Translator,” a new campaign aimed at Gen Z, “many of whom are just entering the corporate world and navigating office jargon for the first time,” The Drum’s Audrey Kemp reports. The “Sour Translator” online tool created by the Mondelēz-owned brand “decodes cryptic, overly polite work emails (think: ‘per my last email’) into their blunt, no-nonsense interpretations lurking beneath the surface,” Kemp writes. Users of the tool can enter a message to receive a “sour” translation coupled with a “sweet” offer on Sour Patch Kids products, redeemable at Albertsons and Safeway stores. The campaign includes influencer collaborations across social media and digital out-of-home ads.
More CPG campaigns and promotions:
- “Illy Launches its Digital Content Series ‘Coffee Break’” (Trend Hunter)
- “Bulleit Whiskey Taps Into ‘Frontier Mindset’ In New Brand Effort” (MediaPost)
- “S.Pellegrino Released ‘A Young Chef’s Journey’ Film” (Trend Hunter)
- ICYMI: “Liquid Death Iced Tea and Nascar Are Looking for a Few Good Drivers” (Adweek)
- ICYMI: “Playboy Spirits Pitches Vodka Seltzers With Colorful Innuendo” (MediaPost)
The Coca-Cola Company discontinues Coca-Cola Spiced as it prepares to launch a new Coke flavor in 2025
The Coca-Cola Company just announced its decision to discontinue one of its latest flavor innovations, Food Dive’s Christopher Doering reports. Launched in February, Coca-Cola Spiced featured raspberry and other natural flavors and was intended to be a permanent offering — its first in over three years. As Doering notes, the new flavor “was an attempt by the beverage manufacturer to respond to growing consumer interest, especially among younger individuals, for spicier foods and beverages.” While the brand didn’t cite a specific reason for axing the product, it noted that it’s making plans for a new Coke flavor in 2025.
Hellmann’s supports underdog football fans with “mayotivation” RV tour
Starting this Sunday, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise will hit the road to share some “mayotivation” with football fans who need it most: those of underdog teams, per a brand announcement. For the next four Sundays, the Hellmann’s tailgating-inspired RV “will roam the home city of one of the week’s underdog teams,” stopping along the way to reward fans who are proudly supporting their local team with “game-day food spreads,” merchandise and other items to help keep them “mayotivated.” Kicking off Sept. 29 in Jacksonville, Florida — with Hellmann’s new mascot Manny Mayo along for the ride — the RV tour will also include stops on Oct. 6, Oct. 13 and Oct. 20, which the brand will announce on its Instagram page. The activation piggybacks off the Unilever brand’s partnership with Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis on its “Mayotivations” campaign and the launch of “the world’s first parfum de mayonnaise.”
More brand activations and initiatives:
- “Whoa! Listerine Recommits To Dental Diversity Initiative” (MediaPost)
- “Pernod Ricard wants to make drinking environments safer” (Brand Innovators)
Quote of the week:
“There’s no better feeling than beating your rivals, and then being able to trash talk your friends who are fans of those rivals. We thought that aligned perfectly with what our core mission is [at] Fireball, to really inject fun and a little bit of mischief into every experience.”
—Danny Suich, Global Brand Manager for whisky brand Fireball, speaking with Marketing Brew’s Alyssa Meyers about the brand’s new “Ignite Your Rivalry” campaign.
ColourPop partners with Netflix on limited-edition “Stranger Things” makeup collection
Just in time for the Halloween season, ColourPop Cosmetics announced a collaboration with Netflix on a limited-edition makeup collection inspired by the streaming platform’s hit series “Stranger Things,” Women’s Wear Daily’s Mikelle Street reports. Featuring a variety of “color-shifting products,” Street notes, the ColourPop x Stranger Things collection includes lip gloss, eye shadow, a waffle-scented lip mask (inspired by Millie Bobby Brown character Eleven’s love for Eggos) and more. Available on colourpop.com and at Ulta Beauty stores, products in the collection range in price from $12 to $28, with the entire collection available for $99.
See also: “Bath & Body Works partners with Netflix on ‘Bridgerton’-inspired collection,” from the March 15 edition of The Week in Retail.
More brand collabs and partnerships:
- “Captain Morgan partners with Pepsi on RTD” (The Spirits Business)
- “Altoids x Bad Roman Speaks to Gen Z’s Love of Restaurant Matchbooks” (Trend Hunters)
- “Panera Partners with Pepsi to Launch New Holiday Travel Sweepstakes” (QSR Magazine)
- ICYMI: “Busch Light wrangles partnership with professional bull rider” (Marketing Dive)
- ICYMI: “Ohio-Based Signature Sauces Launches Officially Licensed Tailgate Series Sauces with The Ohio State University” (Licensing International)
A.1. launches A.1. Steakhouse Butter
Expanding beyond the condiment aisle, A.1. just launched A.1. Steakhouse Butter — created in collaboration with Epicurean Butter — per a brand announcement. Inspired by social media trends of people creating their own butter-based recipes, the new offering from the Kraft Heinz brand merges A.1. Steak Sauce’s signature taste with fresh herbs for “authentic steakhouse-inspired flavors and a buttery, creamy texture” to help elevate “grill enthusiasts’ favorite meals” — from steak to pork chops to mashed potatoes. Fans can try A.1. Steakhouse Butter for themselves at the New York City Food and Wine Festival Steak & Whiskey event on Oct. 19 or wait for it to drop at their local retailer or online.
See also: “How Kraft Heinz Drove Sales of A.1. Sauce After Red Meat Sales Slumped” (Adweek)
More CPG product launches:
- “Peet’s Coffee introduces new concentrate product” (Global Coffee Report)
- “Jones Soda enters functional beverage space with prebiotic drinks” (Food Dive)