Leftovers: DiGiorno brings pizza to Thanksgiving | Pringles unveils caviar collaboration

It’s not Thanksgiving turkey, it’s DiGiorno

As Thanksgiving approaches, pizza lovers have a new way to gobble up the traditional holiday meal.

DiGiorno is unveiling a Thanksgiving Pizza for a limited time, designed for Friendsgiving or Turkey Day celebrations. The pizza contains turkey, gravy sauce, diced sweet potatoes, crispy onions, green beans and cranberries, on top of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses all on its thick Detroit-style crust, according to the brand.

“Our passion is pizza, and we are always looking for unique ways to infuse the fresh-baked taste of DIGIORNO into moments of celebration – even the most traditional holiday dinners,” Kimberly Holowiak, DiGiorno’s senior brand manager, said in a statement.

The festive item won’t be in the freezer aisle at grocery stores next to boxes of regular frozen pizzas. The Thanksgiving Pizza will only be available online each Wednesday through November 22 while supplies last. It is being sold for $11.23, reflecting the numerical date the holiday lands on this year.

Nestlé has previously utilized the brand recognition of DiGiorno to debut novel food items as a way to build hype among its consumers. The brand previously launched ice cream cones made from its Croissant Crust and the DiGiornut, a pizza-flavored doughnut, exclusively through sweepstakes on its website.

Thanksgiving presents a time when food and beverage companies often launch limited varieties of their popular products using the flavors of the season. In 2020, Pepsi gave away 1,500 bottles of an Apple Pie flavor of its soda. And in 2018 Kellanova’s Pringles brand debuted a three-pack of exclusive chip flavors ahead of the holiday: Turkey, Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie.

— Chris Casey

 

Pringles embraces Real Housewives, TikTok trend with caviar collection

Like sweet and salty, crunchy and smooth, Pringles and caviar are opposites that attract. With over 10 billion views on TikTok alone, the Pringles and caviar combination is the epitome of quiet luxury snacking while, maybe decked out in your quiet luxury duds.

The mashup of high-brow and lowbrow fare is getting so much attention that it sparked a collaboration. Pringles teamed up with The Caviar Co., to create the Crisps and Caviar Collection, a limited edition offering.

“Our partnership with The Caviar Co. not only embraces the trending snacking behavior in an approachable manner, but expertly curates our beloved crisp flavors with this seafood delicacy for a Pringles tasting experience unlike one you’ve ever had before,” Mauricio Jenkins, the U.S. marketing lead for Pringles, said in a statement.

The combination was inspired by a scene in season 14 of Real Housewives of New York, according to a press release. During the season’s second episode, the RHONY crew goes to Erin Lichy’s Hamptons home, where she served caviar-topped Pringles. Not everyone loved it. In the clip, Sai De Silva actually called her “a high-low type chick.”

The collection pairs Pringles Original, Sour Cream & Onion, and BBQ flavors with The Caviar Co.’s Classic White Sturgeon Caviar and Smoked Trout Roe in three “Crisps and Caviar” kits that are out just in time for holiday gifts and shopping.

There are three kit offerings. Each is stocked with a gold collectible caviar keychain to open tins and two spoons: The combinations include: Pringles x The Caviar Co. Smoky Shores which is Pringles Sour Cream & Onion paired with The Caviar Co.’s smoky and savory Smoked Trout Roe and crème fraîche. There’s also Pringles x The Caviar Co. Salt of The Sea and Pringles x The Caviar Co. ‘Crisps and Caviar’ Flight.

The chips are available online, where consumers can choose a flavor combination.

The partnership is just one example of how the snacking category is getting creative and combining highbrow tastes with familiar everyday brands.

The partnership was brokered by Kellogg’s exclusive global food and beverage licensing agency, Beanstalk.

— Rose Palazzolo

Stok gives cold brew the chills with peppermint mocha

With fall, and even winter, taking hold across much of the U.S., Stok cold brew is giving coffee the chills with its latest flavor.

The Danone-owned brand is debuting its newest limited-edition: Peppermint Mocha. This seasonal offering is described as not overly sweet and for fans who enjoy the taste of coffee. 

While much of the discussion around this time of the year focuses on pumpkin spice latte, the new Stok flavor comes amid a jump in consumer discussions around peppermint mocha. Social conversations around peppermint mocha have increased by nearly 70% during the past year, according to data from Tastewise, reinforcing the popularity of this cold weather flavor. 

“STōK knows that the reality is that there are always a million things to get done, no matter the season,” Brittney Polka, vice president of ready to drink beverages and lead for Stok Cold Brew at Danone North America, said in a statement. “It’s exactly why STōK Cold Brew launched Peppermint Mocha – because managing the winter season is more enjoyable with a glass full of the coffee-forward, winter flavors you love always in your gloved hand.”

Stok has been a winner lately for Danone, posting continued market share during the company’s most recent quarter. In March, Danone said it was planning to invest up to $65 million to build and expand a bottle production line for coffee creamers and cold brew in Florida.

Stok is among the top five cold brew manufacturers, along with High Brew, Califia Farms, Nestlé and Stumptown. Collectively, the top 5 manufacturers have an estimated 45% combined market share, according to Business Growth Reports.  

For Stok, the peppermint flavor feeds growing consumer demand for new and novel flavors, while allowing Danone to deepen the brand’s presence in the fast-growing cold brew category. The brew coffee market is forecast to grow from $651 million in 2022 to nearly $5.5 billion in 2032, data from The Brainy Insights estimated.

— Christopher Doering