Knead perfume is meant to smell like walking past an Auntie Anne’s store.
This week, we look at some of the campaigns and flavor latest innovations in the food and beverage space. Visit our site each Thursday for a new list of niche campaigns from the past month, and catch up on all of our Top 5 rankings here.
Also read: The best ads of 2024 (so far)
Unpaid endorsements from not one but two potential U.S. vice presidents for its Diet variety—and an aggressive new marketing campaign for its flagship—are delivering new momentum for Mtn Dew, the PepsiCo-owned soda brand looking to make a comeback. New creative from Goodby Silverstein & Partners introduces a flamboyant outdoorsy type known as the Mountain Dude, who commands doomscrolling layabouts to “get off your ass” (they are pictured slouching on the backs of donkeys). The ad brings legacy outdoors iconography back to Mtn Dew while recruiting new users through cues about its taste—the one thing JD Vance and Tim Walz can agree on.
Two giants of the grocery store are getting together through cross-strained products—an Oreo-flavored Coca-Cola Creations drink, and Coke-flavored Oreo cookies complete with fizz. The products will be available for a limited time starting next month.
Oreo and Coca-Cola officially confirmed their collab plans this week.
The collab showcases the flavor innovation and marketing strength of the two brands while sharing one another’s audience, according to Coca-Cola and Oreo parent Mondelēz International. Packages include scan codes that take users to a Spotify experience for two that will create a playlist based on musical compatibility. The brands are also promoting a merch line with Forever21.
In honor of the brand’s 60th birthday, and months after its award-winning edible mascot, Pop-Tarts recently released limited-edition giant versions of its toaster pastries. Fans in certain zip codes of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago could pay $60 for a Party Pastry, a strawberry Pop-Tart that was 73 times larger than a normal Pop-Tart. The giant pastry was delivered in a three-foot-long box. The Kellanova brand sent some to creators, and the team at Food & Wine snagged one too.
Ever wanted to smell like Auntie Anne’s? The pretzel purveyor made it possible by bottling the smell of its pretzels as a fragrance called “Knead.” The perfume has notes of buttery dough, salt and a hint of sweetness, according to a release from the brand. To celebrate the new scent, Auntie Anne’s will have a perfume pop-up in New York on Aug. 13. The perfume will be available online the next day in 1- and 3.4-ounce bottles retailing for $25 and $45, respectively.
“There are few scents more recognizable than the aroma of Auntie Anne’s,” Julie Younglove-Webb, chief brand officer at Auntie Anne’s, said in a statement. “Smell is a special and powerful sense. Over the years, fans have shared their memories and experiences that began with just a whiff of our pretzels. We’ve bottled that moment and can’t wait for fans to enjoy it in a whole new way.”
TikToker Logan Moffitt is known for his videos on how to cook Korean food at home. Originally nicknamed “kimchi boy” for his videos on how to make homemade kimchi, Moffitt is quickly trading that nickname for “cucumber boy” for his videos on how to eat an entire cucumber.
His original recipe posted in early July shows him making Korean cucumber salad. He slices a cucumber with a mandolin into a clear quart container, adds soy sauce, sesame oil, MSG, sugar, sesame seeds and two green onions before vigorously shaking the container to mix it all up. He has made other versions as well, including jalapeno popper, salmon lox and a tzatziki version.
Fans have loved the videos, causing Logan to place an Instacart order that included fifteen cucumbers. Despite showing himself using Siggi’s, Hellmann’s mayo and Philadelphia cream cheese, Chipotle seems to be the first brand to jump on the cool cucumber trend. Logan recently posted a video with the hashtag #ChipotlePartner of him preparing a cucumber with Chipotle’s vinaigrette, corn salsa, sour cream and cheese. The video, posted earlier this month, has nearly 4 million views.
The top comment is from Chili’s asking if Logan can make a cucumber salad with the chain’s honey chipotle sauce.
