Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
Mars cools it with freeze-dried M&M's
M&M's are getting in on one of the coolest trends in food with a new freeze-dried offering.
The Mars-owned brand is set to launch M&M's Pop'd Caramel, which reimagines the iconic candy with a light, crispy texture. The candy builds on the success of Skittles Pop'd, which launched last year.
"This fresh and fun new treat takes everything you love about M&M's and gives it a light, crispy crunch, bringing the flavors and textures together in an unexpected new way," Martin Terwilliger, vice president of marketing at Mars Wrigley North America, said in a statement.
Non-chocolate candy generated $12.9 billion in sales over the past year, according to a National Confectioners Association report, representing one-third of all U.S. confectionery sales. Generation Z and millennials are increasingly shaping the future of the industry as their buying power expands, prompting a shift toward treats with textures and flavor combinations.
M&M's Pop'd Caramel will launch online and on TikTok Shop on Nov. 10 before a national rollout in January 2026.
– Sarah Zimmerman
Taco shells get a little Cheez-y
Ortego taco shells are adding a little cheese to their ingredient list.
B&G Foods is launching Cheez-It Flavored Taco Shells that fuse the cheesy flavor from the popular cracker with the crunch of the company’s Ortega Hard Taco Shell.
"We've always believed that taco night should be anything but ordinary," Chris Kirwin, brand director of B&G Foods, said in a statement. "With the Ortega Cheez-It Flavored Taco Shell, we've created a delicious shell that's not just a vessel for the inside of a taco, but a flavor experience in itself that taco and snack enthusiasts alike will love."
The new Ortega Cheez-It shells are available at Target and select retailers nationwide. Distribution will expand to include additional grocery stores in the coming months. Cheez-It is owned by snacks maker Kellanova, which is in the process of being acquired by Mars for $36 billion.
Tacos have been a prime space for snacking collaborations. Taco Bell launched its Doritos Locos Tacos in 2012, becoming one of the most successful product launches in the company’s history. Last year, the Mexican chain also collaborated with Cheez-It on two items that contained a cracker 16 times larger than the traditional one.
Companies are increasingly finding ways to combine the equity embedded in their brands through new product launches as a way to boost sales. Mondelēz International and Hershey, for example, are rolling out Reese’s Oreo Cups and the Oreo Reese’s Cookies, combining two of the most popular brands in the snacking space.
The offerings help companies stand out in a crowded market as food makers grapple with a slowdown in consumer spending, mounting competition from upstarts and a push by consumers for new and innovative products.
– Christopher Doering
Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr. partner on nonalcoholic beer and coffee
Iron Man and Spider-Man are teaming up again — the actors, that is.
Actors Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr. are partnering for a collaboration between the two beverage brands they co-founded: nonalcoholic beer brand Bero and coffee brand Happy, respectively.
The companies are co-releasing two products: Bero Coffee Draught, which is a creamy beer with cocoa notes, and Eternal Hoptimist ground coffee, a coffee inspired by hops with notes of citrus and pine.
The products will be available on Happy and Bero’s respective e-commerce platforms and in limited quantities at Target stores nationwide.
Holland and Downey have worked together on several projects in the Marvel superhero franchise, most recently 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
Holland founded Bero last year along with beer industry veteran Grant Wood. The company aimed to differentiate itself from nonalcoholic beer competitors by making the beer alcohol-free from the start, as opposed to brewing the beer and then removing the alcohol. In the U.S. and other countries, drinks with 0.5% alcohol by volume or less can be considered alcohol-free.
Meanwhile, Downey founded Happy in 2024, along with Craig Dubitsky, founder of consumer products Eos and Hello. Happy has quickly expanded across national retailers and aims to reach a variety of consumers through ground coffee, Keurig cups and ready-to-drink options.
Both brands are in the crowded category of celebrity-backed beverage brands. Other new entrants in the space include Ben Stiller’s Stiller’s Soda and Charlie Sheen’s Wild AF Brewing.
– Laurel Deppen
