Chips Ahoy! to set sail with new taste | New Cargill ingredients include coating fats for confectionery | Krispy Kreme unveils Spring-inspired mini doughnut line
Mondelez has reformulated Chips Ahoy! cookies with chocolate chips that feature a higher cocoa content and Madagascar vanilla extract "to delight our existing fans and bring back lapsed consumers," explained Sabrina Sierant, Chips Ahoy! senior director.
Easter is second only to Halloween for holiday candy purchases with 53% of US consumers expected to buy candy as part of their Easter celebrations, according to a Numerator survey. The survey also finds more people will celebrate Easter this year with the grocery channel earning the most spending dollars followed by big box chains.
Snack brands showcasing their products at Natural Products Expo West included 12tides and Sea Monster which both produce puffed seaweed-based snacks. Seaweed is expected to grow in use as a food ingredient due to its nutrient-dense composition and low impact on the environment.
A family-owned business that launched in 1914 and is known for its Red Vines and Sour Punch candy lines today, The American Licorice Co. now employs fifth-generation leaders and is one of the largest private employers in La Porte, Ind. "I think it's the spirit of making candy and loving candy that has gone into everybody's DNA at the company," said John Nelson, chairman of the board and fourth-generation leader at the company. Learn more in this episode of The Sweet Life.
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Ferrero's Kinder Bueno brand has rolled out the "Wow" campaign with spots running on Instagram and Facebook that depict people's reactions to eating a Kinder Bueno bar for the first time. "With our target audience consisting of older Gen Z and Millennials looking to live a full life, our goal is to inspire them to become Kinder Bueno lovers and turn everyday, ordinary moments into something extraordinary," said Shalini Stansberry, Kinder Snacking's vice president of marketing.
Frito-Lay has released the "Get Caught with Something Good" ad for its PopCorners brand that features actor Don Cheadle as the proprietor of a 1920s speakeasy that is "busted" by a fake cop who mistakenly arrives in pajamas thinking it is a "sleepeasy." The ad continues the brand's positioning as something so good it should be contraband that was first introduced with its 2023 "Breaking Bad"-inspired Superbowl ad.
Brands should consider using a chief AI officer to develop guardrails, rules of conduct and disclosure principles, as organizations such as UnitedHealth, Deloitte and the US Department of Justice have done, writes Inuvo President Barry Lowenthal. The CAIO should work with multiple internal teams but prioritize relationships with marketing first because "marketing is where the position can make the most immediate impact."
Some retailers are changing self-checkout policies to limit how often and in what capacity they will offer the option, in an effort to crack down on errors and retail theft, while systems like Amazon's "Just Walk Out" technology continue to grow in popularity. "It's going to come back to balancing the right systems with the behaviors of your clients and your product use," says Appriss Retail CEO Michael Osborne.
Each Thursday for the next eight weeks, SmartBrief will spotlight each company featured in NCA's award-winning streaming series, "The Sweet Life."
I do not have a magic formula for how every woman should live her life, but I do know that we need to give one another a hand.
Madeleine Albright, diplomat, first woman to serve as US secretary of state
March is Women's History Month
The news reported in SmartBrief is a collection of articles originating from news outlets in the U.S. and around the world, and does not reflect the official position of NCA.
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