Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Food Branding News of 2024


While there were countless brands that made news during 2024 due to name changes, logo changes, and entire brand refreshes, how many FOOD brands can you recall that transformed themselves and made news?

Here's a recap of the memorable food industry brands that made marketing news during 2024:

FLAVOR OF THE YEAR (January)

McCormick & Company, the top-selling maker or seasonings and spices, named Tamarind as its "2024 Flavor of the Year." Tamarind comes from a tree that commonly grows throughout Africa, Mexico, Asia, and India, and produces pods containing the acidic and tangy-sweet flavor that can be added to a number of foods, such as potato chips, ice cream, and coffee. According to CNN, "McCormick partnered with Black Tap Craft Burgers, a restaurant with seven US locations and known for its over-the-top foods, to feature tamarind in milkshakes, burgers, and fries beginning on February 1, 2024, for a limited time."

TROPICANA'S LIMITED EDITION PACKAGING (January)

While Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, was on everyone's mind at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one company did not want it anywhere near its brand. Tropicana, the top-selling orange juice brand, released limited-edition bottles with a slight change to its name. On the bottles, the letters "A" and "I" were removed from the name so that it showed as "TROPCN." According to the company, the marketing campaign highlighted "the fact that there is nothing artificial, and never has been anything artificial" in the orange juice.

SUBWAY'S SIDEKICKS (January)

What goes best with a foot-long sandwich? How about a foot-long cookie? Subway announced that its new Sidekicks menu would feature "a collection of three new foot-long snacks: a foot-long cookie, a foot-long churro, and a foot-long pretzel, all costing between $2-$3." The company partnered with Auntie Anne's to create the pretzel and Cinnabon to create the churro.

APPLEBEE'S DATE NIGHTS (January)

Applebee's offered a limited number of subscription date night passes for $200. The pass covered a year of weekly date nights starting on February 1 and ending on January 31, 2025. The pass was valid 52 times and covered up to $30 of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

THE SOUR TASTE OF SELF-CHECKOUT (February)

Do you use self-checkout? According to a study by researchers at Drexler University published in the Journal of Business Research, "Regular checkout featuring a human cashier makes customers more loyal to a store and more likely to revisit in the future than self-checkout. The study comes as some companies remove self-checkout machines and others adjust their self-checkout operations. Customers feel more rewarded by a store and feel like they were treated more valuably when using regular checkout because it involves less effort and cashiers handle the scanning, bagging, and payment process, the researchers found. Regular checkout also makes people feel that they are receiving the service they are entitled to as customers, the study found."

In addition, a survey from hospitality product provider Tensator revealed that 33 percent of retail shoppers chose not to complete a purchase because of a bad experience with a self-service kiosk. Consider how these negative experiences - where customers would like to pay and complete transactions - can - and do - affect a brand experience.

COCA-COLA'S NEW FLAVOR (February)

Coca-Cola launched its newest flavor, Coca-Cola Spiced, to cater to America's changing demographics. The company explained that the new Spiced flavor blended the traditional Coke flavor with raspberry and spiced flavors.

BEVERAGES AND SUBWAY (March)

PepsiCo, Inc. reached a 10-year agreement to become the exclusive provider of beverages at all Subway sandwich shops in the United States replacing rival Coca-Cola.

OREO'S JOKE ON APRIL FOOLS' DAY (April)

On April Fools' Day, Oreo shared the best post after changing its brief description to: "We're done."

Oreo posted the following message on Twitter/X:

"After time and consideration, we have made the decision to separate the cookie and the creme duo that you all know to be as OREO cookies. There are no secrets or anyone to blame, we are just two best friends who met at a very young age and have grown over the past 112 years in our own ways. We appreciate your continuous support as we enter this new chapter, separately."

A follow-up post stated: "Just the Creme and Just the Wafer hit shelves 4/31."

However, April has only 30 days. So, if you had not realized that this content was an April Fools' Day joke, that final message provided the gotcha!

MCDONALD'S AND KRISPY KREME (April)

Beginning in 2024, Krispy Kreme's doughnuts would be available at McDonald's restaurants. Will you order a Big Mac, French fries, and a Krispy Kreme doughnut?

McDONALD'S BILLBOARD AD (April)

Have you ever smelled a billboard? McDonald's created a scented billboard in the Netherlands. The company installed a tray of French Fries into the billboard and then used ventilators to suck and diffuse the scent. The billboard was also placed within 2,000 feet of a McDonald's restaurant so that customers could follow the scent.

MCDONALD'S GRANDMA MCFLURRY (May)

On May 21st, McDonald's released its newest McFlurry flavor for a limited time, the Grandma McFlurry, a sweet treat that mixed syrup, vanilla ice cream, and crunchy candy pieces. According to McDonald's, it's "like grandma's favorite treat that she hid in her purse. Grandmas have always held a special place in our hearts, and today, they're having a major moment influencing culture - inspiring trends in fashion, decor, and now, even food with our newest McFlurry." 

SPECIAL K'S LATEST PACKAGING (June)

In an amazing first, Special K featured a pregnant woman on its cereal box. The box, which showed Molly Baz with an exposed pregnant belly, was available for purchase on the Kellogg website. It's part of the brand's "Special for a Reason" marketing campaign, which features "inspiring individuals."

DR PEPPER'S MARKET SHARE NEWS (June)

After years of slowly gaining market share, Dr Pepper inched ahead of Pepsi as the number two soda brand in the United States, according to Beverage Digest. FYI, Coca-Cola leads the sector by a comfortable margin. Founded in 1885 in Waco, Texas, Dr Pepper established a small but devoted following in the American South. Today, Dr Pepper experiments with new flavors including Strawberries & Cream and Creamy Coconut.

COSTCO'S HOT DOG PRICE (June)

Costco announced that the price of its hot dog would remain at $1.50. Costco had been selling its hot-dog-and-soda combo for $1.50 since it first hit menus in the mid-1980's. The price tag has held steady over the years despite inflation — otherwise it would be closer to $4.40 today. According to NPR, "The $1.50 hot dog and the $4.99 rotisserie chicken are what experts have called an example of loss-leader pricing - a strategy in which companies sell certain products below their market cost in order to get customers in the door and, ideally, putting more profitable goods in their carts."

SCRUB DADDY AND DUNKIN' DONUT (June)

To celebrate this year's National Donut Day on June 7th, Dunkin' teamed up with Scrub Daddy to create a limited-edition Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy. According to Scrub Daddy's website, "This delicious duo is perfect for scrubbing away donut crumbs and wiping up iced coffee spills...Despite appearing good enough to eat, these scrubbers are not for consumption...and edible donuts are not included."

COLD STONE CREAMERY AND MINIONS (June)

Known for its customizable ice cream options, Cold Stone Creamery announced its partnership with Illumination's "Despicable Me 4" film with the release of its Despicamallow Ice Cream. According to a press release, "The new creation, called Mega Minion Marshmallow Meltdown, features Despicamallow Ice Cream, Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows, and Yellow & Blue Sprinkles, inspired by the mischievous antics of the Minions. Cold Stone will also feature Heist Cream Cake with layers of moist Yellow Cake and Despicamallow Ice Cream with Yellow & Blue Sprinkles and wrapped in fluffy White Frosting featuring the Mega Jerry Minion. Guests can dive into these limited-time offerings at participating Cold Stone Creamery locations nationwide from June 12 through July 30."

S'MORES ANYONE? (July)

Ramen is not the first food when thinking about dessert. However, Cup Noodles launched a new limited-edition s'mores-flavored instant ramen. Ready to eat via microwave, the product came with a sauce-based flavor blend of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers. According to Nissin Foods USA Senior VP of Marketing Priscilla Stanton, the limited-edition offerings of Cup Noodles were an effort to expand beyond a "pantry staple." The line-up of flavors included Pumpkin Spice, Everything Bagel, and Breakfast (which is a mixture of the classic breakfast combination of maple syrup pancakes, sausage, and eggs).

STARBUCKS AND PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE (August)

Nothing says fall better than pumpkin drinks or Starbucks' Pumpkin Spiced Latte, but the coffee giant announced that its Pumpkin Spice Latte would return to stores on August 22nd, earlier than ever. 

CARVEL ICE CREAM (August)

Carvel Ice Cream announced that on August 15th, it would kick off the fall season with the re-introduction of its Pumpkin Cheesecake menu items. Initially offered in 2023, pumpkin lovers rejoiced with these limited-time items: Pumpkin Cheesecake Soft Serve, Pumpkin Cheesecake Scooped, Pumpkin Cheesecake Shake, Pumpkin Cheesecake Sundae Dasher, Pumpkin Cheesecake Flying Saucer, and Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream Pop.

PIZZA HUT'S TABLE (August)

Pizza Hut offered customers who were moving to a few cities something extra. The pizza chain offered a special pizza box that turned into a miniature table with an order of a large regular-priced pizza in Dallas, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Orlando, Florida. Pizza Hut explained that it chose those cities based on a Penske Truck Rental list that ranked those cities among the country's top moving destinations. The table box's corrugated structure folded into a base that could support a pizza box - and the table was only available through take-out. According to Pizza Hut's Chief Marketing Officer, "Many can relate to the chaos that comes with moving, and the last thing you want to worry about is unpacking to enjoy a hard-earned meal at the end of a long day."

COCA-COLA AND OREO (September)

Coca-Cola and Oreo announced their partnership with two limited-edition products: Oreo Coca-Cola Sandwich Cookies and Coca-Cola Oreo Zero Sugar limited-edition soda.

KRISPY KREME AND BARBIE DOUGHNUTS (September)

To celebrate the 65th birthday of Mattel's Barbie doll, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts partnered with Mattel and launched the limited-edition Barbie Collection featuring four doughnuts: the Barbie Pink Doughnut, the Barbie Berries ‘n Kreme Doughnut, the Malibu Dream Party Doughnut, and the Barbie Sweet 65th Doughnut.

CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY NAMECHANGE (September)

Remember when Dunkin' Doughnuts dropped the word "doughnuts" from its name? Or when Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC to move away from the "fried chicken" emphasis in its name? Well, the 155-year-old Campbell Soup Company announced that it would drop the word "Soup" from its name and rebrand as The Campbell's Company. The company owns snack brands including Goldfish, Snyder's of Hanover, Cape Cod, Pepperidge Farm, and others. Therefore, the brand wishes to move away from the idea that it's only soup.

HERSHEY'S FORAY INTO FITNESS MARKET (October)

While everyone associates the Hershey brand with chocolate and its own town in Pennsylvania, the company is now expanding into the fitness market with a new product line of energy drinks and protein powders. Will the flavors be chocolate? Time will tell if this will be a successful line extension or a bad idea.

GOLDFISH NAMECHANGE TO CHILEAN SEA BASS (October)

According to CNN, "The Pepperidge Farm snack brand is tweaking its name for a limited time to "Chilean Sea Bass," a more grown-up title. It's part of a strategy to attract adults and re-establish its relevance amid a decline in snacking following a pandemic peak. But the Chilean Sea Bass snacks won't appear on shelves: Bags featuring the unique branding are only being sold online for one week the last week of October. Goldfish reminds people that the traditionally branded bags are still available at retailers nationwide. Fun Fact: The tweaked name is a nod to the snack's roots. Pepperidge Farm launched Goldfish in the United States in 1962 initially aimed at adults as a bar snack. Since the 1990's, however, Goldfish has been sold as a snack for kids with playful packaging."

SUBWAY'S FOOTLONG COOKIE GETS DRESSED FOR HOLIDAYS (October)

According to Restaurant Business, "Subway is getting a jump on the winter holiday season with its launch of the Double Chocolate Peppermint Footlong Cookie. It has a 12-inch-long base of double chocolate cookie dough that's packed with chocolate and white chocolate chips, swirled with peppermint extract, and topped with red and white candy cane pieces. It's served warm and comes packaged in a holiday gift box."

RAO FLOAT APPEARS IN MACY'S DAY PARADE (October)

According to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade website, "Rao's is an Italian-American restaurant founded in East Harlem, New York City, in 1896 by Joshua Anthony Rao, who moved with his parents from Italy to the United States. In December 2006, Rao's opened a second restaurant in Las Vegas. In 2024, it was announced that Rao's Homemade would sponsor a float called "Pasta Knight" in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The float will display a scene made entirely of food and other kitchenware depicting a knight on horseback with a white flag that says "Rao's Homemade" in a battle against a dragon."

KFC CANDLES (November)

KFC (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) teamed up with Homesick Candles to launch two candles for the holiday season: a bucket of chicken candle and a buttery biscuit candle.

RETURN OF SELF-SERVE MILK AND SUGAR AT STARBUCKS (November)

According to CNN, "The return of milk and sugar stations is a small step for Starbucks, but it represents something much bigger for the world's largest coffee chain. It's an acknowledgment that Starbucks went too far in overloading its baristas with endless ways to prepare drinks."

Did these changes cause you to purchase more or less? Did these changes stand out in your mind? Were they good strategic decisions? What food brands will stand out during 2025. Tune in next January for a recap.


Image Credits: Oreo and Tropicana. 

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