KANSAS CITY — Snack manufacturers are tapping into consumer interest in unique and daring flavors with co-branded and inventive offerings.
Kellanova cracker brand Cheez-It collaborated with Hidden Valley Ranch to debut a limited-time offering. Inspired by at-home flavor mashups posted on social media, the Cheez-It x Hidden Valley Ranch Crackers combine the taste of cheese with the taste of Hidden Valley Ranch to create a salty and savory flavor profile, according to the company. Following a limited release in late June, the products are available now for a limited time in retailers nationwide. The crackers build off the launch of Cheezy Ranch, a Cheez-It and Hidden Vally Ranch condiment collaboration, earlier this year.
“We've seen fans mixing up their own blend of ranch seasoning-dusted Cheez-It crackers on social media, so we knew creating the perfect blend of cheezy and zesty flavors together was essential to satisfying their cravings,” said Cara Tragseiler, senior brand director for Cheez-It. “Much like our loyal Cheez-It fans, ranch lovers are seriously obsessed with Hidden Valley Ranch, so it was a no-brainer to infuse that fandom with our own to create a new, legendary cracker flavor.”
Sour Patch Kids, a Mondelez International, Inc. brand, has launched Sour Patch Kids Snapple in partnership with the Keurig Dr Pepper brand. Merging juice drink flavors from Snapple with the Sour Patch Kids confection format, the fruit-flavored mix candy is rolling out in kiwi strawberry, fruit punch and Mango Madness flavors. The LTO is available at major national retailers in 3.61-oz and 8.02-oz bagged varieties. Additionally, Mondelez has introduced a Swedish Fish and Snapple co-branded product in national retailers, Swedish Fish Snapple Fruit Flavor Mix.
“At Sour Patch Kids, we're always looking for inventive ways to introduce new flavors and spark excitement among our fans,” said Grace Howard, innovation brand manager at Mondelez International. “And what better way to do that than by partnering with Snapple, whose iconic juice drink flavors perfectly complement our sour-then-sweet experience.”
Mars, Inc. has expanded its Kind Snacks portfolio with two new product lines. The “Savory” bar line features a blend of nuts with a smokey and spicy flavor profile, the company said. The second line, “Seeds, Fruits and Nuts,” utilizes pumpkin and sunflower seeds meshed with fruit flavors. Flavor varieties include paprika nuts and mesquite smoked sea salt, roasted nuts and jalapeño, and rosemary nuts and sea salt in the savory line and strawberry sunflower seed, orange cranberry pumpkin seed and dark chocolate raspberry pumpkin seed in the seed-based line.