The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods: October 25, 2024 edition

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.

M&M’S just announced a collaboration with Kate Spade New York on a new limited-edition fashion accessory collection. Launching globally Nov. 1, the M&M’S x Kate Spade New York line will include a coin purse and a key fob as well as jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, stackable rings and charms, all of which reference the Mars-owned brand’s colors and packaging as well as the iconic candy itself. M&M’S x Kate Spade New York will be available for purchase at select M&M’S and Kate Spade New York stores, department stores and online at MMS.com and katespade.com.

Previously: “Heinz partners with Kate Spade New York on capsule collection,” from the June 28 edition of this column.

More from Quad Insights: “10 surprising brand collaborations — from the amusing to the absurd”

More brand partnerships and collabs:

• “Bodyarmor Enters Into Multiyear Partnership With Knicks Star Jalen Brunson” (MediaPost)
• “Avocados from Mexico Partners with Rob Gronkowski” (Trend Hunter)
• “Nutella spreads the word about its biscuits via Betches book club partnership” (Marketing Dive)
• “Recover 180 adds more NBA players as endorsers” (Sports Business Journal)
• “Collagen Connects With Coffee In Vital Proteins/Nespresso Team-Up” (MediaPost)

To celebrate the launch of its new SoCo Sour (a pre-mixed whiskey sour, basically) and to help gamers “upgrade their gaming experience,” Sazerac-owned whiskey brand Southern Comfort just introduced the SoConsole — a gaming accessory that serves shots. The device is designed to be placed atop the Xbox Series X to dispense 50 mL pre-mixed shooters of SoCo Sour at the press of a button on a remote control. In a numerical nod to the brand’s single-serving SoCo Sour shooters, which come in 50 mL bottles, 50 gamers 21 and up will be able to buy the SoConsole for $50 in Sazerac’s online store beginning today (Oct. 25). SoCo Sour 50 mL shooters are now available for purchase in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Tucson, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and Cleveland, Ohio — with nationwide rollout slated for later this year.

Previous gaming-themed brand activations:

• “Heinz debuts ‘robotic snack dipper’ for gamers,” from the August 23 edition of this column.
• “Doritos launches AI-augmented snacking experience for gamers,” from an earlier edition of The Week in Generative AI.

More beverage category product launches and promotions:

• “Red Bull Unveils 2024 Winter Edition: Iced Vanilla Berry” (Beverage Dynamics)
• “Civilized Coffee debuts instant mocha powders” (Food Business News)
• “Premium non-alcoholic beer, Bero, launches in US” (FoodBev Media)
• “STōK Cold Brew Coffee Launches New Energy Drink” (Packaging Strategies)
• “Coffee Mate Launches ‘Un-Foam-Gettable’ Dupes for Dunkin’ and Starbucks Sweet Cream Cold Foams” (Woman’s World)
• “The Cometeer Coffee Advent Calendar Shares Flash-Frozen Capsules” (Trend Hunter)

That’s the amount Keurig Dr Pepper is paying for a 60% stake in energy-drink brand Ghost as it looks to “spruce up its refreshment beverages portfolio,” Reuters’ Ananya Mariam Rajesh reports. (See more industry and marketing stats in the most recent edition of The Weekly 10 from Quad Insights.)

More CPG insights:

• “J.M. Smucker to sell Voortman cookies for $305M” (Food Dive)
• “Consumers Seeking More Options To Prep Meals At Home” (Store Brands)
• “American whiskey growth stalls in US” (The Spirits Business)
• “Report: Brands and Consumers Increasingly Embracing Third-Party Commerce” (Retail TouchPoints)
• “Retail inventories in good shape for holidays: NRF CEO” (Retail Dive)

Goldfish just announced a temporary rebrand in a move to “attract adults and re-establish its relevance amid a broader decline in snacking,” CNN Business’ Jordan Valinksy reports. For a limited time, the Pepperidge Farm snack has renamed its traditional cheddar crackers “Chilean Sea Bass Crackers” to “reinforce that Goldfish crackers are not just for kids,” Valinksy notes. Customers can purchase two bags for $7.38 at ChileanSeaBassCrackers.com on a first-come, first-served basis, with new batches set to be released every day through Oct. 30.

More CPG product and branding news:

• “Johnnie Walker creates bottles with AI” (The Spirits Business)
• “Origins Debuts New Packaging with Youthtopia Collection” (Happi)
• “Kellanova spices up Cheez-It, Club Crackers with new flavors” (Food Dive)
• “Local Hive Launches Three Hot Honey Flavors” (Food Manufacturing)

5-hour Energy is celebrating the energy brought by devoted football fans with its new limited-edition Stan the Fan 5-hour Energy in a special “Fan Fuel” flavor. Stan the Fan 5-hour Energy “is built to power through the highs, the lows and every nail-biting play,” per a brand announcement. Even better, the brand is rolling out a limited-edition 12-pack of the new offering that comes with a free 5-hour Energy FAN-E Pack (fanny pack) — “a custom, fan-inspired belt designed to hold 12 bottles of 5-hour Energy” to “hype up your whole crew.” To promote the launch, 5-hour Energy is partnering with football fans who will help introduce Stan the Fan 5-hour Energy at tailgate parties in New York, Detroit and Houston.

Previously: “5-hour Energy releases refillable cufflinks with help from ‘superfan’ Flavor Flav,” from the July 26 edition of this column.

More CPG brand activations, campaigns and promotions:

• “Heineken Hacks Live Concertgoer Phones, Converts Them To ‘Boring Mode’” (MediaPost)
• “Gillette flips traditional mentor-mentee relationship with new campaign” (Drug Store News)
• “Milk-Bone revels in rom-com tropes with movie trailer parody campaign” (Marketing Dive)
• “Reckitt’s Mucinex inspires consumers to swipe left on cold and flu symptoms with Mr. Mucus’ Tinder debut” (Fierce Pharma)
• “Goodwipes’ ‘Golden Porta Potty’ Campaign Generates Hullaba-loo” (Happi)
• “Haribo to Debut Float and Balloon at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (License Global)