Tag: Food product

Chicago, USA – Mondelēz International has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a significant majority stake in Evirth, a manufacturer of cakes and pastries in China, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. 

The move represents an important step forward in Mondelēz’s strategy to accelerate growth in the cakes and pastries category – a core focus for the company, alongside chocolate and biscuits.

It is worth noting that Mondelēz already has a minority investment in Evirth to develop, manufacture and supply frozen-to-chilled cakes and pastries in China featuring some of its iconic brands, including Oreo and Philadelphia. Evirth is growing rapidly, driven by its strong distribution in club stores across China, as well as its R&D and technical expertise.

Founded in 2013, Evirth is a leading company in frozen-to-chilled cakes and pastries in China, a category currently estimated at US$3b, growing at a compound annual growth rate of about 15%. Chinese consumers increasingly seek fresh, premium options with innovative and sophisticated taste profiles to meet a growing range of snacking occasions.

Dirk Van de Put, Mondelēz Chair and CEO, said, “We’re excited about the opportunity to accelerate our growth in cakes and pastries through continuous innovation, leveraging our high-value brands to create more premium tastes and formats.”

Meanwhile, Linfeng Xu, chairman, founder and general manager at Evirth, commented, “We are excited that Mondelēz International is increasing its investment in Evirth, and this is a historic moment for us. By bringing in Mondelēz’s brand experience, technical strength, and international network, Evirth can be better positioned to provide premium products for our customers and consumers.”

Mondelēz has strengthened its portfolio of cakes, pastries and other baked snacks through its April 2020 acquisition of Give & Go, a manufacturer of frozen-to-fresh brownies, cookies, cupcakes and related bakery products in North America, and its January 2022 acquisition of Chipita Global SA, a manufacturer in croissants, baked rolls and related snacks, focused in Central and Eastern Europe, with increasing expansion to additional markets.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – MBCS, the media-fuelled creative content practice within the IPG Mediabrands network, has announced its latest campaign to launch the new Pizza Hut’s Melts Burger.

The campaign launches a new permanent addition to the Pizza Hut menu. The Melts Burger features a brand film to showcase Pizza Hut’s innovation of its new menu item, which is crunchy like Melts, and tastes like a burger, bringing about “the best of both worlds” as it says with its tagline.

Mun Tuck Wai, executive creative director at MBCS said, “A pizza brand that is now into burgers… say what?! This mash up is a truly unique combination, and we want to showcase Pizza Hut’s innovative spirit. The Melts Burger is new, cool, and easy for those on the go. Ideal for Gen Z’s and their active lifestyle. The video elements and song capture this modern spirit of youth on the move and shows how you can have the best of a pizza and burger all rolled into one.”

Meanwhile, Emily Chong, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut Malaysia said, “Pizza Hut is known for leading the way in trend-setting ideas and products, and this is an evolution of that. Eating a burger, while delicious, can sometimes be a messy affair. The Melts Burger offers the perfect combination with the best of both worlds shining through – crunchy, cheesy, loaded – who says you can’t have it all?”

For a limited time only, the Melts Burger is available at a special price of RM0.99 with the purchase of selected drinks or sides.

Singapore – Popular food brands Coca-Cola and OREO are teaming up to offer fans unique flavor experiences that celebrate the so-called ‘Real Magic’ of friendship. The tie-up will include the release of two limited edition products: the Coca‑Cola® OREO™ Zero Sugar and OREO® Coca‑Cola™ Sandwich Cookie.

Both limited edition products sport a sleek, black-and-white packaging design that remains true to the two brands’ iconic personalities while embracing creative elements like OREO® cookie embossments and stacked Coca‑Cola® bottles.

The OREO® Coca‑Cola™ Sandwich Cookie features two signature chocolate basecakes paired with a Coca‑Cola taste, embossed with Coca‑Cola designs, with a smooth white-colored creme and studded with red edible glitter. Coca‑Cola® OREO™ Zero Sugar features a refreshing Coca‑Cola taste with flavorful, OREO cookie-inspired hints.

Moreover, the exclusive offerings are the latest surprise-and-delight drops from the global Coca‑Cola Creations platform, which lends the iconic Coca‑Cola brand to new creative expressions, unexpected flavors and immersive experiences anchored in the core Gen Z passions of music, gaming, sports, technology and pop culture.

Oana Vlad, global VP of brand strategy at The Coca‑Cola Company, said, “We took careful steps to ensure we delivered the OREO experience in a Coca‑Cola, and vice versa. Both products went through several iterations, and we look forward to following the public conversation of what each tastes like. At the end of day, our mutual commitment to product quality and technical excellence — and our willingness to have fun and work together as one team — made this possible.”

Meanwhile, Eugenia Zalis, global head of marketing and brand for OREO at Mondelez International, commented, “At OREO, we strive to identify fresh ways to excite consumers and, with this collaboration, we have truly upped the ante. The bestie bond forged between OREO and Coca‑Cola is a playful way to unite our fanbases and celebrate the power of connection and togetherness. We cannot wait to see the reaction to the campaign and hope fans are excited to experience the latest twists on two classics.”

Like previous Coca‑Cola Creations drops, the collab complements the limited-time-only products with immersive digital and physical experiences designed for friends to enjoy together. 

Fans can activate “Bestie Mode” by scanning on-pack QR codes to merge their music tastes and create custom Spotify playlists commemorating their friendship. Bestie Mode will translate IRL, as well, through live experiences including Ferris wheel takeovers and the opportunity for friends to create matching temporary tattoos and more.

Coca‑Cola® OREO™ Zero Sugar will hit stores beginning in September in 35 markets worldwide, including the United States, Canada, China, Mexico and Brazil. A frozen variation of Coca‑Cola® OREO™ Zero Sugar will also be available at participating 7-Eleven locations in select markets.

India –  Food and beverage company Adani Wilmar has unveiled the comeback of Kohinoor Basmati Rice in their latest campaign aimed to revive the passion for dining and meals within consumers. 

For this campaign, Adani Wilmar teamed up with advertising agency DDB Tribal and ad-filmmaker Prakash Varma for a 40-second film titled ‘Khushboo Kuchh Khaas’, which helps viewers visualise the aroma of Basmati. 

In the film, the diners are all minding their own business until the server comes with biryani made with Kohinoor Basmati rice, exuding an aroma that distracts everyone’s attention in a quirky fashion. 

Commenting on the campaign, Vineeth Viswambharan, associate vice-president of marketing & sales at Adani Wilmar, said, “Our campaign for Kohinoor Rice aims to forge a deep emotional connection with consumers by highlighting its captivating aroma and lineage.Setting a new benchmark for creative storytelling, the film has no dialogue,voice overs, or text, yet it communicates in a universal language of music & visualisation which is instinctively understood across the country, while powerfully communicating brand USPs.” 

Meanwhile, Iraj Fraz, Creative Head of DDB Tribal, also mentioned, “Kohinoor Basmati is the most exquisite aromatic rice, and aroma isn’t an experience that’s easy to explain. It has notes, a harmony, an intro, and an encore. Perhaps this is why we can describe an aroma as a symphony. Just as an orchestra needs a master conductor, we had Prakash Varma tell the story, in his signature style.”

Singapore – Food company Dole has released a new social initiative called #UnstuffedBears to communicate the rising issue of childhood hunger around the world.

The newest initiative is launched in retrospect to the increase of awareness and global movement in addressing the global hunger crisis. The campaign comes to life through the imagery of the teddy bear, a universal childhood icon.

Images will depict five teddy bears, four of them seemingly have full bellies, while one has been unstuffed, signifying someone who is hungry. The campaign goes on to say that “one in five children worldwide may go hungry this Christmas”.

The newest campaign is in line with Dole’s commitment to “The Dole Promise”, which vows to provide access to sustainable nutrition for 1 billion people by 2025.

“According to the UN World Food Programme, the impact of COVID-19 may double the number of people suffering from acute hunger. This exacerbated food insecurity crisis is acutely affecting children around the globe and in our own backyards,” said Pier Luigi Sigismondi, worldwide president at Dole Packaged Foods. 

“Acting on our promise to bring food and support to those in need, as well as raising awareness of this growing crisis, is at the center of this campaign. And this is just one of many steps we are taking to make a change for the better,” said Sigismondi.

The campaign will roll out via online video, display, and social media throughout the holiday season. It has already been launched in Europe and the US, with Asia launching next week. 

In order to live up to the campaign, Dole is rolling out its promotional purchase of select Dole Packaged Foods products on some eComm channels, where profits on these purchases go towards food security charities.