KANSAS CITY — Restaurants are collaborating with consumer packaged goods companies to develop new menu items.
KFC has partnered with PepsiCo, Inc.’s Cheetos brand to introduce the Cheetos Sandwich. The cheesy handheld features a breaded extra crispy chicken filet drizzled with a special Cheetos sauce layered over Cheetos and mayonnaise all served on a toasted bun.
"We have a massive fan base that loves experiencing the Cheetos brand in new ways, and we hope we delight our fans with our best collaboration yet," said Dena vonWerssowetz, senior director of marketing for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division. "The merging of our two iconic brands is sure to be a phenomenon."
Dairy Queen has teamed up with Mondelez International, Inc. to debut the new Sour Patch Kids Blizzard Treat. The Blizzard features Sour Patch Kids candy pieces blended with Sour Patch Kids Redberry flavored soft serve.
“Our Sour Patch Kids Blizzard Treat dazzles your eyes with vibrant colors and tantalizes your taste buds with sour-then-sweet flavor,” said Maria Hokanson, executive vice-president of marketing at American Dairy Queen Corp. “It’s the ultimate way to beat the heat and a perfect addition to our Summer Blizzard Treat Menu.”
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is expanding its partnership with Beyond Meat, which began in December 2018, to offer two new burritos featuring the company’s meat-mimicking plant protein crumbles.
The Beyond 8 Layer Burrito contains seasoned Beyond Meat plant-based crumbles layered with slow-cooked beans, guacamole, diced tomatoes, lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, zesty red sauce and sour cream wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.
The Epic Beyond Cali Burrito includes seasoned Beyond Meat plant-based crumbles combined with crinkle-cut fries, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo salsa in a warm oversized flour tortilla.
“The enthusiasm shown by our fans during the first weeks of our Beyond Meat offerings was undeniable,” said John Cappasola, president and chief executive officer of Del Taco. “To that end, we wanted to reward the passion being shown across social media and in our restaurants by utilizing our uniquely seasoned Beyond Meat recipe in two new protein-packed burritos.”
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and Moringa America, Inc.’s HI-CHEW brand have joined forces to create new HI-CHEW Dragon Fruit Frozen Yogurt. Inspired by HI-CHEW’s dragon fruit flavored candy, the nonfat flavor combines the pink hue of the tropical fruit with the fruit flavor of the chewy candy.
"We are continuously looking for creative opportunities to excite and attract new HI-CHEW fans, and we're intrigued by the idea of reimagining HI-CHEW's true-to-fruit flavors in an unexpected way," said Tatsuya Takamiya, chief marketing officer of Moringa America. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Menchie's to bring a refreshing new way to enjoy HI-CHEW Dragon Fruit. It's also exciting to see the dragon fruit flavor trending outside of candy and being introduced in other categories such as in beverages and snacks."
