The Week in Consumer Packaged Goods: September 20, 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.

In the sweetest jewelry collaboration imaginable, Unilever and streetwear jewelry brand King Ice just released a collection featuring some of the CPG company’s most popular frozen treats. The limited-edition drop consists of three “intricately designed iced-out” pieces: a Klondike Bar necklace, a Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake necklace and a Popsicle Firecracker necklace. Available for $80 each at kingice.com and at select retailers, the Ice Cream Collection x King Ice merges “fashion and nostalgia, offering fans a unique way to showcase their love for these iconic frozen treats,” per a brand announcement. 

More brand collabs and partnerships:

• “Curology Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary with Funfetti Partnership” (Happi)
• “Jack Daniel’s adds Cherry Coke RTD” (The Spirits Business)
• “Coca-Cola and Bacardi partner on ready-to-drink cocktail” (Food Dive)
• “Jimmy Dean and Joe Ando Are Releasing a Limited-Edition Tote Bag With a Sandwich-Saving Feature” (Food & Wine)
• “Cazadores Partners with Café Bustelo to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month” (DesignRush)
• “Coca-Cola and Bacardi testing canned rum and cokes” (CNBC)
• “C4 partners with Hershey to bring its sweets to energy drinks, protein powders” (Food Dive)
• “Cereal Celebrity: Angel Reese Lands On Reese’s Puffs” (MediaPost)
• “Ocean Spray x Mean Girls juice collab announced to celebrate film’s 20th anniversary” (Dexerto) 

Hormel Foods’ turkey product brand Jennie-O just released the results of its 2024 Thanksgiving survey, which focuses on both the joy and stress brought on by the holiday. Conducted by Talker Research for Jennie-O, the survey polled 5,000 U.S. consumers on their “preparation methods, turkey preferences, preferred sides and much more,” per a brand statement. Results show that most people take up to two weeks to plan their Thanksgiving meal, with food prep taking an additional three days and cooking on the day itself taking five hours. In conjunction with the release of the survey results, Jennie-O also announced it will have specialists on hand to provide support and advice — from tips on how to prepare a turkey to side dish recipes — from Nov. 1-28 through Jennie-O’s 1-800-TURKEYS hotline, live chat at Jennieo.com or via SMS (by texting “turkey” to 73876). Additional resources will be available on Jennie-O’s website, including full menus and leftover ideas. 

More brand activations:

• “Play-Doh creates curriculum to spark imaginations” (Brand Innovators)

That’s the share of U.S. CPG spending captured by Walmart across all regions, according to Numerator’s Regional Retail Dashboard, which tracks omnichannel purchase trends across the U.S., per Chain Store Age. Trailing Walmart are Costco Wholesale Corp. (7.8%), Kroger (7%), Amazon (5.6%) and Albertsons (4.2%).  

More CPG insights:

• “IWSR: spirits and RTDs take share from wine” (The Spirits Business) 

YouTube personality MrBeast, in partnership with creators Logan Paul and KSI (aka Olajide William Olatunji), just announced the launch of a new venture: Lunchly, a “prepackaged lunch brand geared toward kids” meant to offer a healthier alternative to Kraft Heinz’s Lunchables, Ad Age’s Erika Wheless reports. In addition to nachos or mini pizzas or crackers, turkey and cheese, each Lunchly package includes a bottle of Prime — an electrolyte beverage brand launched by Paul and KSI — and a chocolate bar from the MrBeast-owned Feastables. Lunchly is rolling out to grocers nationwide, including Dillons, Food 4 Less, Kroger and more. 

Previously: “Safeway, MrBeast partner on ‘Survive in a Grocery Store’ video challenge to address food insecurity,” from an earlier edition of The Week in Retail. 

More CPG releases:

• “J.M. Smucker launches new Uncrustables flavor” (Bakingbusiness.com)
• “PepsiCo’s Gatorade debuts electrolyte powder aimed at everyday hydration” (Food Dive)
• “Nestlé’s Stouffer’s launches first shelf-stable offering with macaroni and cheese” (Food Dive)
• “Philadelphia Is Dropping Cream Cheese Frosting For The First Time Ever” (Delish)
• “New Candy Alert: M&M’s Is Finally Making a Peanut Butter & Jelly Flavor a Reality” (Food & Wine)
• “Chobani launches Zero Sugar Creamer” (Dairy Foods Magazine)
• “Kit Kat Vanilla stakes a claim for the flavor that has people falling for its deliciousness” (Food Sided)
• “Monster adds Rio Carnival-inspired NPD to energy drink rang” (FoodBev Media)
• “Zevia Salted Caramel Soda is a Limited-Edition, Online Exclusive Flavor” (Trend Hunters)