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.
McCormick unveils 2025 Flavor Forecast and announces Aji Amarillo as the “Flavor of the Year”
McCormick just announced the release of its Flavor Forecast 25th Edition, launching its latest flavor innovation in honor of its 2025 Flavor of the Year: aji amarillo. A staple in traditional Peruvian cuisine, this yellow chile pepper (as it literally translates to in English) is now increasingly being added to a wide variety of dishes — from appetizers to drinks — and features “fruity, tropical notes, reminiscent of passion fruit and mango, with a moderate heat ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU),” per a McCormick statement. To celebrate the release of its Flavor Forecast and its limited-time Aji Amarillo Seasoning — available at retailers beginning in early February — McCormick will host its first-ever Flavor Night Market at Miami’s food market Smorgasburg Feb. 21-22, where guests can sample aji amarillo–inspired food and beverages and explore the brand’s other 2025 flavor predictions.
Previously: “McCormick and Milk Bar partner to promote McCormick Cookie Quest with limited-time holiday cookie,” from the Nov. 15 edition of this column.
More food and beverage innovations:
- “Keebler introduces Fudge Stripes double fudge cookies” (Baking Business)
- “Penelope Launches Wheated Bourbon” (Beverage Dynamics)
- “Dunkin’s 2 New Cold Foam Creamers Will Level Up Your Home Coffee Game” (Food & Wine)
- “Violife’s Dairy-Free Coffee Creamers Feature a Lentil Protein Formula” (Trend Hunter)
- “Fulfil health and wellbeing brand unveils protein enhanced series” (Confectionery Production)
- “Mondelez unveils belVita energy snack bites” (Food Business News)
- “Coca-Cola taps into nostalgia with launch of Orange Cream flavor” (Food Dive)
- “Simply the Goodz X Tajín Offer a Flavorful Fusion of Sweet and Spicy” (Trend Hunter)
- “Buffalo Trace’s Latest Release Is Here — and No, It’s Not a Whiskey” (Food & Wine)
- “Ben & Jerry’s launches new Sundaes in 4 flavors” (Dairy Foods Magazine)
- “Final Boss Sour x Tajín Team Up for Uniquely Spiced Candies” (Trend Hunter)
International Delight partners with “Love is Blind” stars for “ultimate blind date”
International Delight just announced a partnership with Netflix’s “Love is Blind” Season 7 newlyweds Taylor Krause and Garrett Josemans to celebrate the launch of its limited-edition Love is Blind Creamers and Iced Coffee — available now at retailers nationwide — and to treat two fans to “the ultimate blind date,” per a brand announcement. Krause and Josemans will pick a grand-prize winner and their prospective match, based on video submissions, for the Blind Coffee Date Delivery Contest, which will include introductions by Krause and Josemans themselves and a personal chauffeur who will take the pair to and from their coffee date. (A virtual coffee date is also an option.) The Blind Coffee Date Delivery Contest is timed to the Feb. 14 launch of “Love is Blind” Season 8 on Netflix.
Previously: “Coffee Mate collaborates with HBO’s “The White Lotus” on two limited-time coffee creamers,” from the Dec. 20 edition of this column.
More Valentine’s Day-focused promotions:
Stat of the week: 63%
That’s the share of people using the dating app Tinder who said they’re more likely to say “yes” to someone who’s interested in cooking, according to surveys conducted by Tinder in partnership with Opinium and DCDX, Marketing Dive’s Sara Karlovitch reports. This insight is the basis for a new joint campaign between Tinder and Unilever-owned food brand Knorr, titled “#UnlockYourGreenFlag,” designed to “encourage Tinder users to add cooking as an interest on their dating profile and boost the likelihood of finding a match,” Karlovitch notes.
Avocados from Mexico partners with Rob Gronkowski on Big Game Guac Pack and Gronkamole Challenge
Avocados From Mexico is partnering with former NFL star Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski to celebrate the “big energy of the Big Game” (the Super Bowl, obviously) with a video event hosted by Gronk himself, per a brand announcement. On Wednesday, Gronkowski took to Avocados From Mexico’s YouTube channel to put “his guac-eating skills to the test” during the first-ever Gronkamole Challenge, where viewers could win prizes for guessing how many avocados Gronkowski could eat. (Spoiler: a lot.) One of the prizes, Avocados From Mexico’s limited-edition Big Game Guac Pack — “the Always Good accessory you didn’t know you needed” — is inspired by Gronkowski’s own guacamole recipe, aka “Gronkamole,” and features an insulated, removeable pouch for storing freshly made guac, with a carrier for guac seasonings and tortilla chips.
Previously: “Avocados From Mexico launches generative-AI microsite that creates guacamole recipes from images,” from the Feb. 2, 2024 edition of this column.
More Super Bowl-inspired promotions:
Yellow Tail partners with Domino’s to create a unique “pizza-night pairing experience”
Yellow Tail and Domino’s just announced a partnership designed to “deliver a flawless pizza night pairing experience,” per a joint announcement. The new Limited Edition [ yellow tail ] & Domino’s Red Blend comes in 1.5-liter twist-off bottles and features “balanced, fruit-forward flavors.” The brands are also introducing a new technology to assist customers with their Domino’s pizza order, which they’re calling “Twist.Tap.Order” — essentially a cap that when twisted off and tapped with your smartphone will take you directly to the Domino’s app with your preset “Easy Order” already in the cart. Special bottles of the Limited Edition[ yellow tail ] & Domino’s Red Blend will be available online in select markets beginning Feb. 3, while bottles without the Twist.Tap.Order technology will be available to purchase in select brick-and-mortar stores.
Previously: “Hidden Valley Ranch celebrates new bottle design with a Pizza Hut pizza autographed by Eli Manning,” from the Jan. 17 edition of this column.
More brand partnerships and collabs:
- “BrightFarms & Instacart Offered Free Salad Kits for Quitter’s Day” (Trend Hunter)
- ICYMI: “You Can Now Get Eggo and Rice Krispies Treats in Ice Cream Form” (Food & Wine)
- ICYMI: “Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Totino’s Pizza Rolls Team Up for Bold New Cereal Flavor” (RetailWire)
- ICYMI: “Skyline Chili and Graeter’s release ‘sweet, savory’ ice cream” (Axios)
Clif Bar celebrates perseverance and personal triumphs in new “Raise Your Bar” campaign
Mondelēz brand Clif Bar just announced the launch of a new brand platform and integrated marketing campaign titled “Raise Your Bar” to help promote its new Cookies & Crème energy bar, featuring 11 grams of plant protein. Inspired by “people who push forward despite a myriad of obstacles” to achieve their goals, the multimedia campaign will include motivational storytelling, customer experiences and collaborations with athletes, as well as co-branded content, activations and challenges with Strava, per a brand announcement. Kicking off Feb. 3 with a series of digital ads across platforms including Meta and YouTube, “Raise Your Bar” will showcase “moments of personal triumph that can be achieved with sustained effort and perseverance,” emphasizing the fulfillment you experience when you “raise your bar.”
More brand campaigns and activations:
