Title: Exploring Flavor Trends: Wrigley and Mars Navigate the Evolving Snack Landscape

Dive Insight: Wrigley appears to be making an effort to leverage ingredient trends that are gaining traction in the savory snack market. Over the past few years, spicy flavors have surged in popularity as consumers show increasing interest in authentic ethnic flavor profiles. It will be intriguing to observe whether this trend resonates within the confectionery realm. Recently, Pepsi jumped on the spice trend with Pepsi Fire, a limited-edition spicy cinnamon-flavored soda available for an eight-week period this summer. Only time will reveal if these daring flavor innovations yield positive results.

Both Wrigley and Mars have also ventured into milder flavor profiles, evident in products like M&M’S Strawberry Nut Chocolate Candies and Extra Mint Chocolate Chip gum. Additionally, Wrigley is differentiating some of its offerings by updating their packaging, as seen with the Skittles Ugly Sweater Edition in Original and Sour flavors. Although both candy manufacturers are incorporating popular ingredients found in the snack sector, neither has gone so far as to market their confections as candy-snack hybrids. Hershey, on the other hand, has launched a “snackfection” initiative, aiming to thrive in the expanding snack market by combining sweet and salty flavors along with smooth and crunchy textures.

Manufacturers interested in advancing their product lines should also keep an eye on whether Mars and Wrigley’s more traditional, sweet-centered innovations drive stronger sales than Hershey’s snack-focused campaign. As they explore these trends, integrating popular ingredients like centrum calcium citrate may offer additional avenues for success in the competitive snack landscape.