Dive Brief:
- Kellogg's Pop-Tarts brand is teaming up with Dunkin' Donuts to bring more coffee to breakfast through two new flavor varieties, Kellogg announced Thursday.
- The new limited edition flavor varieties include Frosted Chocolate Mocha and Frosted Vanilla Latte Pop-Tarts flavors, one with a chocolate-espresso filling and the other with a coffee frosting.
- Kellogg will begin shipping the products to retailers and grocery stores nationwide this month.
Dive Insight:
As cereal sales have slumped in recent years, Kellogg has positioned the Pop-Tarts brand as a bastion of hope for the company's U.S. morning foods segment.The perception that cereal is less convenient is one of the reasons segment sales continue to dip. Pop-Tarts are more portable and convenient to prepare and consume, especially when consumers are on the go.
Pop-Tarts can also be versatile in flavor profile, which has opened the doors to a wide range of brand partnerships for Kellogg. This year alone, partnerships ranged from Dunkin' Donuts this month to A&W Root Beer and Crush Orange soda brands in April. While many of Pop-Tarts' flavor innovations trend toward sweetness, the Dunkin' Donuts partnership introduces more complex and savory flavor combinations.
While the new varieties take after the breakfast chain's popular coffee line — rather than its namesake pastry — they do not contain any actual caffeine. At the very least, coffee lovers may appreciate the novelty, and perceive that they are consuming more coffee with their breakfast by eating a coffee-flavored breakfast item.
Still, Kellogg hasn't given up on its cereal brands entirely. Just last month, the company unveiled Kellogg's Cinnamon Frosted Flakes in response to consumer demand for the variety on social media. If well received, the new variety could contribute to continued growth for the cereal brand, which posted its largest quarterly sales increase in more than three years in Q3 2016, the company said in a news release.