Welcome to The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods, a weekly round-up for marketers from Quad Insights that covers the latest must-know news surrounding the CPG space.
Thanksgiving dinner gets cheaper, but prices remain at record highs, Farm Bureau reports
Consumers may not pay as much for Thanksgiving dinner this year, but the price tag for the meal is still at a record high, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 38th annual survey, released on Wednesday. A feast for 10 this year averages $61.17, or just under $6.12 per person. That represents a 4.5% decrease from 2022, when lower production — due to an outbreak of the avian flu — coupled with high demand resulted in higher turkey prices, per The Hill’s Addy Bink, contributing to an average cost per meal for 10 of $64.05.
This year’s average price is still approximately 25% more expensive than it was in 2019, with the Northeast the most expensive region for a Thanksgiving meal and the Midwest the least expensive, the AFBF reports.
PepsiCo announces goals aimed at reducing sodium, increasing use of diverse ingredients in convenient foods category
On Tuesday, PepsiCo announced new goals as part of its PepsiCo Positive (Pep+) initiative, which include reducing sodium and incorporating more diverse, nutritious ingredients in its products.
Specifically, the company is working toward at least 75% of its global convenient foods portfolio volume being at or below sodium targets for the category by 2030. This will include a 15% reduction in sodium for U.S. Lay’s Classic Potato Chips, the company said in a statement.
Within that same timeframe, PepsiCo also seeks to deliver 145 billion portions of diverse ingredients annually in its global convenient foods portfolio, acknowledging the nutritional benefits of ingredients such as legumes, whole grains and plant-based proteins, among others, per the company’s statement.
These new goals, Food Dive’s Christopher Doering reports, are part of PepsiCo’s efforts to transform how the company operates to have a “more positive impact on the environment, supply chain and the foods people consume.”
In partnership with TikTok, Unilever launches #CleanTok soap opera and awards to better engage Gen Z
This week, consumer packaged goods giant Unilever announced a partnership with TikTok to launch a first-of-its-kind soap opera as well as the #CleanTok Awards to engage with what is the platform’s most popular and ever-growing community, #CleanTok, Ad Age’s Gillian Follett reports. Co-produced by TikTok creator Sam Cotton, the five-episode animated miniseries features some of Unilever’s most well-known cleaning and laundry brands in a melodrama “with a comic twist,” per a Unilever statement. Meanwhile, the #CleanTok Awards were created to recognize the best content creators, called “cleanfluencers,” across #CleanTok subgenres — including “Most OMG Extreme Clean” and “Most Motivational Sunday Reset,” Follett notes.
The new efforts by Unilever deepen the company’s ties to #CleanTok, which has been sponsored by Unilever’s Cleanipedia website since June, and builds on a trend that began during the pandemic, when Unilever “saw Gen Z engage with cleaning in a way it hadn’t done before,” Unilever Home Care Chief Marketing Officer Eduardo Campanella said in a statement.
ICYMI: Wrangler and Buffalo Trace partner for limited apparel line
Wrangler and Buffalo Trace Distillery have joined forces to launch a limited line of co-branded clothing inspired by “a love of craft” and “a respect for heritage,” backed by decades of experience crafting quality products, Wrangler said in a statement. Three years in the making, the collection combines the outdoor lifestyle of the Western brand with the functional needs of bourbon-makers, with denim washes that “emulate an oak-aged look and feel,” according to Vivian Rivetti, Vice President Global Design at Wrangler. The line includes pieces for men and women, ranging from t-shirts and jackets to aprons and work shirts.
The partnership allows the denim brand to explore the culture and legacy of spirits while ensuring functionality, Sourcing Journal’s Angela Velasquez reports. “The men’s line offers a sherpa-lined jean jacket with a corduroy collar and a cotton canvas distiller’s jacket, each bearing an interior flask pocket,” Velasquez writes. “The distiller’s jacket and a corduroy short come in Old Fashioned, a color that captures whiskey’s rich amber hue.”
The collection is available on Wrangler’s and Buffalo Trace’s websites and at select retailers for price points ranging from $24.99 to $139.99.
Further reading
- “Famous Twitch streamer Pokimane launches healthy snack food line after dealing with health food issues” (USA Today)
- “Snickers maker Mars to buy UK chocolatier for $665M” (Food Dive)
- “Reese’s debuts caramel peanut butter cup” (Food Business News)
- “Sprouts Farmers Market Offers Exclusive GoodSAM Coffee Product” (Progressive Grocer)
- “‘A category our consumers are asking for’: Why more brands are getting into fragrances” (Modern Retail)
- “J.M. Smucker Restructures and Expands Bryan Hutson’s Scope” (Consumer Goods Technology)
- “Bud Light partners with Zach Bryan around Super Bowl LVIII” (Marketing Dive)
- “Watch Queen Latifah take on ‘milk shaming’ in dairy industry ad” (Ad Age)
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you in December after the holiday.
If you’d like to catch up on prior installments of this column, start by heading to last week’s recap: “The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods: November 10, 2023 edition”
