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.
Impossible Foods previews its Impossible Ranch, where it will “make meat the new way”
Plant-based meat brand Impossible Foods announced this week that it’s giving the public a first look at its new Impossible Ranch, a traditional cattle ranch that the company is transitioning to “make meat the new way” (i.e., from plants), per a brand statement. Located near the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina, the 70-acre property is being repurposed to grow the crops used to make Impossible’s plant-based beef, chicken and pork products, including soybeans, sunflowers and coconut trees. The move is also designed to highlight the brand’s commitment to animal welfare, as Impossible Ranch will serve as a “safe haven” for the cattle on the property.
See also: Impossible Food recently unveiled “bold new packaging to appeal to meat-eaters,” as we noted in an earlier edition of The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods.
Topo Chico and Converse collaborate on limited-edition shoe and apparel line
Coca-Cola-owned mineral water brand Topo Chico just announced a collaboration with Converse focused on a limited-edition collection of sneakers and apparel to be released May 2 at Converse.com, per Food & Wine’s Stacey Leasca. The brands partnered with street artist Victor “MARKA27” Quinonez to create the designs, which are a “nod to Topo Chico’s Mexican heritage” and feature visuals reminiscent of the brand’s packaging. The collection includes Chuck Taylor low-tops for $70 and high-tops for $90.
The takeaway: Unexpected brand collabs are a hot trend; see, for instance, the PEEPS x Heelys limited-edition shoe drop, which we highlighted in a recent edition of The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods.
RITZ brand promotes new Buttery-er Crackers with 24-karat gold stick of butter
This week, RITZ debuted new limited-edition Buttery-er Flavored Crackers, “infused with extra buttery flavor,” encouraging fans to “Live Buttery-er,” per a brand statement. To promote the product launch, Mondelēz-owned RITZ has partnered with jewelry designer Greg Yüna to create a 24-karat solid gold bar in the shape of a stick of butter, valued at nearly $100,000. Fans can enter for their chance to win it by creating a TikTok video of themselves using the “Live Buttery-er” TikTok effect created by RITZ, as they embrace “the essence of ‘Living Buttery-er’ by adding a touch of extravagance to life’s everyday moments.” RITZ’s Buttery-er Crackers will be available at retailers nationwide beginning April 29, and the contest will run May 1-20.
The takeaway: We’re about to see just how far TikTokers will go to try to win a 24-karat gold stick of “butter.”
Snickers launches new campaign calling out airplane passengers’ “out-of-sorts” behavior
Snickers officially kicked off a new global campaign this week dubbed “Hungry Skies” that highlights the “out-of-sorts behavior that is synonymous with air travel and the corresponding turbulence it creates for perturbed passengers and flight crews,” per a brand statement. Mars-owned Snickers is positioning itself as a go-to travel snack in what it calls “hilarious and perhaps all-too-relatable travel situations.” The new campaign — which is running in the U.S. and Australia across TV, social, digital, and in-flight and in-airport activations — features moments such as one passenger doing in-seat yoga and another sharing their seat with an emotional support snake. Snickers has plans to expand the campaign to more than 30 countries.
The takeaway: “Hungry Skies” is a fun — and darkly funny — extension of Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” messaging.
Further reading
CPG tech and innovation:
- “Coke launches ‘AI-powered instrument’ to capture the sounds of cola” (The Drum)
• “Nestlé to use recyclable, light-blocking shrink sleeves on some beverage products” (Packaging Dive)
CPG launches and partnerships:
- “Sprite Is Dropping an All-New, Super ‘Chill’ Flavor for the Summer” (Food & Wine)
- “Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails debuts hard tea” (FoodBev Media)
- “Ryan Reynolds drops Deadpool & Wolverine Aviation bottles” (The Spirits Business)
- “The Boston Beer Company Unveils a New Non-Alcoholic Line” (Trend Hunter)
- “Lindt Lindor rolls out plant-based version of truffles” (Drug Store News)
- “Beyond Meat’s revamped burger hits shelves” (Food Dive)
- “Total Wine, Hill Beverage and Snoop Dogg Partner to Deliver THC-Infused Beverages Nationwide” (Retail TouchPoints)
CPG trends:
- “Health and beauty shoppers most likely to be repeat purchasers: study” (Retail Brew)
- “TikTok’s Fixation on ‘Unsexy’ Beauty Products Points to Opportunity for Personal Care Marketers” (Beauty Inc)
- “Plant-based food sales fall to $8.1B as consumers demand lower prices and higher quality” (Food Dive)
- “Health, Sustainability Drive Purchase Decisions For Younger Consumers” (Store Brands)
CPG campaigns and promotions:
- “What Hellman’s $1,352 Designer Shoe Collab Has To Do With Food Waste” (MediaPost)
- “Stella Artois kicks off summer-long marketing push as official ‘Hot Ones’ beer” (Marketing Dive)
- “In Bridgerton and Flonase Collaboration, Both Love and Allergies Are in Bloom” (Adweek)
- “Band-Aid puts TikTok spin on classic jingle to attract Gen Z” (Ad Age)
CPG performance:
- “PepsiCo’s results beat as international demand, higher prices drive growth” (Reuters)
- “Walmart captures 21% of all U.S. CPG spend” (Supermarket News)
