Lay's Crispy Taco might be the answer to a trivia question some
day. It was the winning flavor in Lay's "Do Us a Flavor" annual
consumer contest last year. And it might be the last winner. The
Frito-Lay ended the program last year after a five year run in the
U.S., although a brand spokesman on Wednesday did not rule out the
program returning one day. Still, fans of quirky potato chip
flavors can take heart: Lay's on Wednesday announced a new program
called "Tastes of America" that features eight regionally inspired
flavors, including cajun spice for the Central Gulf, Chesapeake Bay
crab spice in the Mid-Atlantic, fried pickles with ranch for the
Midwest, New England lobster roll for Northeast and more.
The odd couple
After setting their own goals on recyclable packaging and
targets to reduce or eliminate the use of disposable plastic
straws, McDonald's and Starbucks are teaming up to tackle another
big environmental headache for restaurants: paper cups. The two
largest restaurant chains are founding members of the NextGen Cup
Consortium and Challenge, put together by Closed Loop Partners, to
work on a recyclable and/or compostable cup. McDonald's this month
said it is committing $5 million, following the $10 million in
funding Starbucks announced back in March. Closed Loop Partners
says it has already gotten more than 1,000 inquiries from companies
and individuals interested in participating. The challenge begins in September, with
an initial focus on cups for hot and cold drinks.
Hold the bread
Food trends come and go, but cauliflower has enough buzz right
now that one company, at least, thinks it's worthy of its own
emoji. Caulipower just began an online petition
seeking a cauliflower emoji, coinciding with July 17's World Emoji
Day (we'll forgive you if you forgot to celebrate—so did we).
Of course, the company behind the campaign has its own agenda. In
just over a year, Caulipower has become a top seller of pizza made
with a cauliflower crust, and has expanded into baking mixes.
"There's a fair amount of humor in everything that we do," says
founder and CEO Gail Becker, who left Edelman in 2016 to start the company, which
launched in 2017. Her inspiration: her two sons, now 20 and 15, who
have celiac disease and therefore can't eat regular pizza and other
foods made with gluten. "The one test all our products had to pass
was it has to be liked by kids," says Becker, who says her products
are now sold in 10,000 stores and on Amazon. The company's agency
is Harmonica.
You got Rick-rolled by
Gymboree
Children's chain Gymboree is rebranding in time for the
back-to-school season. The brand, which filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection last year, is out with a new assortment of
apparel, new interactive app, and supporting marketing campaign.
Gymboree worked with Pittsburgh-based Where Eagles Dare on the
push, which includes a video of children lip synching to Rick
Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."
Challenging masculinity
Bonobos is back with another marketing push
following its Project 172 campaign focused on male diversity
earlier this year. The Walmart-owned menswear brand will air a
90-second commercial, its first national TV ad, during the ESPY
awards Wednesday evening. In the spot, a diverse cast of men
question traditional definitions of the word "masculine." The
"Evolve the Definition" campaign will also include a digital and
social media push. Bonobos worked with Observatory on the push.
Would you buy this?