Breakfast cereal in a cake mix? Salad dressing-flavored snack crackers? A cherry Slurpee Twinkie?

The wave of co-branded, cross-category products hitting the food and beverage market in recent years has continued to surge, and consumer packaged goods industry observers don’t expect the trend to crest anytime soon.

Why? These product “mashups” offer a winning formula: pairings of popular and trusted brands, innovative taste combinations, attention-grabbing packaging and — most important — consumer intrigue.

In its 2024 Product Pacesetters report, Circana cited examples such as Nestle, which licensed cereal brands from Kellogg (Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Krave) and General Mills (Golden Grahams) for Carnation Breakfast Essentials Flavored Nutritional Drinks.

The market research firm noted how these kinds of offerings tap into brand awareness and trust to bridge consumer audiences and product categories. For instance, ice cream maker Froneri International earlier this year added mini bites to its roster of Oreo frozen desserts — based on Mondelez International’s iconic cookie brand — that includes ice cream tubs, bars, cones and sandwiches.

Similarly, McKee Foods’ Little Debbie has partnered with Hudsonville Creamery on a line of ice creams based on the baked snack brand’s Swiss Rolls, Zebra Cakes, Oatmeal Crème Pies, Cosmic Brownie and other products.

Circana also said in its report that food companies pair their own brands in new products that cross categories, such as General Mills’ Betty Crocker Cinnamon Toast Crunch lineup of cake, cookie, coffee cake and pancake mixes, based on the flavor of the popular breakfast cereal. Conagra Brands, too, has melded cereal and baking with the Duncan Hines Fruity Pebbles Cake Kit, developed with Fruity Pebbles owner Post Holdings.

“Brands are trying to push out a little bit, move into new spaces, new adjacencies and maybe completely new parts of the store,” said Joan Driggs, vice president of content and thought leadership at Chicago-based Circana. “Co-branding is a great way to do that. The Oreo brand is a perfect example. The Oreo cookie has been in ice cream toppings and breakfast cereals. Oreo now has its own line, through Froneri, of frozen novelties and ice cream products. So it’s new spaces, new occasions, new ways of extending the brand for maybe new audiences. It’s a great way of leveraging the trust that consumers already have in a lot of these brands.”

Photo: Taco Bell Corp.

Sparking consumer interest

Brand familiarity also spurs customers to try something new or different. Twenty-six percent of US adults surveyed by market intelligence firm Mintel said they’re more likely to try an unfamiliar flavor from a brand they know — a percentage that climbs to 32% of those ages 18 to 34 and 31% of those ages 35 to 44. Men also are more apt (30%) to try a new flavor from a familiar brand than women (23%), London-based Mintel found.

“Consumers are interested in new things, but there’s still a risk associated with trying something completely new, especially in the past couple of years as we’ve dealt with higher prices of food,” said Jenny Zegler, director of Mintel Food & Drink. “So if you are an adventurous consumer and want to try new things, there’s less of a risk in trying a product that has a brand name or a flavor that you recognize, because you’re not taking a step too far out of your comfort zone. And I think you feel like you might get a better return on investment, or the family might like it a bit more because they already like one of those brands or formats.”

Take Cheez-It x Hidden Valley Ranch Crackers, rolling out this month. The co-branding (Kellanova for Cheez-It and Clorox Co. for Hidden Valley Ranch) joins snack and salad dressing brands that are household names. Another new product, J.M. Smucker’s Hostess Cherry Twinkies Slurpee Limited Edition, pairs familiar brands in a novel flavor combination: a golden sponge cake snack with a cherry-flavored filling based on the classic 7-Eleven frozen beverage.

Zegler described such offerings as “new but familiar innovation.” She explained, “I feel like that’s really where these co-branding or brand partnerships or crossovers really have taken off and accelerated, because it gives you something that at least one part you trust, but there’s still the excitement of trying something new.”

Taste still counts the most. In the Circana 2024 Snacking Survey, the vast majority of shoppers said they choose a snack with a flavor they prefer (83%) and a taste they enjoy (85%). Yet 53% of consumers said they seek authentic or unique snack experiences. That comes with a caveat: 49% of respondents said that when their budget is tight, they stick with the same products they’ve used in the past, a potential hurdle for driving customer trials but a likely plus for familiar brands.

“We actually first mentioned licensing and co-branding in our Pacesetters (report) the year prior,” Driggs said. “We found that licensing is a huge business; we’re talking apparel, home goods, entertainment, all these things. Food represents about 11% of licenses. So that’s a pretty big chunk of that huge universe. That tells us consumers are all-in on licensing. Think about the phenomenon of social media and TikTok and all the weird mashups that you see. Well, this is manufacturers’ way of saying, ‘You know what? We can do mashups,’ but in a more interesting way that fills a market need or gap or is just an interesting, fun, whimsical way of giving consumers what they want.”

Photo: Nestle SA

Social media acts as idea mill

Julie Bowerman, chief marketing officer for Chicago-based Kellanova North America, said recent food product partnerships have included Pringles and The Caviar Co., Club Crisps and Mike’s Hot Honey, Cheez-It with Hidden Valley Ranch and with Taco Bell, Pop-Tarts and Banner Butter, and Eggo Brunch in a Jar (a waffles and syrup cream liqueur) with Sugarland Distilling Co.

“Kellanova, formerly Kellogg Co., has long leveraged social media, consumer insights and, more recently, artificial intelligence to identify trends to inform cross-category collaborations,” Bowerman said. “For example, the rising trend of high-low culinary on TikTok and the obsession with ‘snackifying’ caviar informed our Pringles collaboration with The Caviar Co. Collaborations like these help us reach younger consumers to satisfy their cravings for newness and excitement for something different, while also continuing to be culturally relevant.”

To identify “what is hot among our consumers,” Kellanova will “lean heavily” into conversations on social channels, Bowerman noted. “And pardon the pun, but ‘hot’ is another trend we continue to see. We know 60% of Gen Z and millennials prefer spicy foods, so delivering flavors like Mike’s Hot Honey or Pringles Minecraft TNT are just a couple of examples of how we’re heeding that call.”

Brand mashups often dovetail with current and emerging taste trends, as well.

“There are fun flavor obsessions trending all the time, and we leverage our tools to listen in and see where our brands might fit,” Bowerman explained. “The ‘hot honey’ trend and Gen Z’s obsession with ‘swicy’ — sweet and spicy — flavors influenced our recent Mike’s Hot Honey collaboration, which drove nearly 285 million total impressions across social media. Not only did the collab drive social conversation, but it garnered media buzz, too.”

High relevancy determines whether a brand collaboration becomes a “fan favorite” launch, Bowerman said, citing social media chatter as the source of the idea of putting caviar on crisps as a snack, leading to the Pringles-Caviar Co. pairing.

“The limited-edition Crisps and Caviar Collection boxes offered kits that featured Original Pringles, sour cream and onion or Smoky BBQ with Caviar Co.’s sustainably farmed Classic White Sturgeon caviar, as well as trout roe cold-smoked with Pappy & Co. bourbon oak staves,” she said. “The Pringles x Caviar Co. offer was available through thecaviarco.com and sold out quickly. The pairing trend earned more than 10 billion TikTok views and 99% positive sentiment across earned media. Further, it extended audiences and built salience by leaning into passion points.”

Photo: Van Leeuwen

A ‘powerful marketing tool’

PepsiCo also has embraced co-branding. In a late June industry trends report — titled “Brand Mashup Mania” — on its partner website, the beverage and food company said that “brand collaborations have emerged as a powerful modern marketing tool.”

“Collaborating with another brand can enhance reach and awareness, target a new or specific consumer segment, and drive social media engagement,” Purchase, NY-based PepsiCo observed. “And we’re not even talking about a long-term commitment, either. Most collaborations feature limited-edition offerings designed to create a big buzz over a short period of time.”

The posting spotlighted a trio of limited-time, co-branded beverages: Pepsi x Peeps (marshmallow-flavored colas with Just Born Inc.’s Peeps brand), Pepsi x Cracker Jacks (caramel popcorn and peanut-flavored cola with PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division) and Pepsi x IHOP (maple syrup cola with Dine Brands Global Inc.’s IHOP Restaurants).

“Brand collaborations hold strong appeal to Gen Z, a highly coveted demographic for beverage sales,” PepsiCo noted. “Gen Zers love it when a brand stands out from the pack in an authentic, innovative or humorous way. When done right, cross-collaboration is the perfect way to breathe new life into how Gen Z perceives your brand.”

Brand combos from Frito-Lay have included Smartfood Doritos Nacho Cheese and Smartfood Krispy Kreme popcorn; Flamin’ Hot varieties of Ruffles potato chips, Doritos tortilla chips, Cheetos cheese puffs, Fritos corn chips and Funyuns onion ring snacks; and Doritos, Fritos and Flamin’ Hot varieties of Jack Link’s meat snacks (Link Snacks Inc.), among others.

“A primary reason for the proliferation of co-branded packaged foods in recent years is familiarity with favorite flavors,” said Gil Phipps, senior vice president of global customer solutions at Advantage Solutions, a St. Louis-based sales, marketing and services firm for CPG manufacturers and retailers. “If you launch a new product with a barbecue flavor, customers will have a vague understanding of what your product will taste like, but there are still a plethora of unknowns. Is the barbecue flavor sweet, smoky or spicy? Kansas City, Texas, Memphis or Carolina barbecue? However, if a customer sees Cheez-It Hidden Valley Ranch Crackers, they can probably taste that in their minds before even opening the box. The familiarity with those flavors, both Cheez-It and Hidden Valley Ranch, are so strong there is no guesswork. Just open and enjoy a new combination of familiar, favorite flavors.”

And teaming well-known brands can pack some punch.

“This is in part a marketing play, trying to see if the sum of adding two favorites is greater than the parts,” Phipps said. “This is also a chance for brands to reach out to devotees of their co-branding partners in order to expand their reach.”

Co-branded foods and beverages can be especially appealing to consumers in inflationary times, he added.

“There is less risk of buying something new and not enjoying it,” Phipps said. “Product demos are a great way to eliminate the risk of buyer’s remorse for customers, but these co-branded creations are also low-risk ways to savor new flavors while still making ends meet.”