10
Spotlight on the Online World: Experiential Opportunities
Bold colours and shapes for a more exciting experience
In addition to the increasing demand for natural ingredients, the desire to escape a reality that is increasingly gloomy and uncertain feeds a growing interest among millennials and younger generations for ‘fantasy’ experiences. Characters and colours stemming from a fictional, fantasy world, such as unicorns and bold bright colours are being used in snacks to provide that escape. While Kellogg’s released a Mermaid, Unicorn and Birthday waffle in blue, pink and yellow with rainbow sprinkles respectively, 2020 also saw the introduction of Bazooka’s Unicorns Gummies in multi-colours. The pandemic has also severely altered our celebratory occasions; as social distancing prevents in-person gatherings for occasions. Reese’s response to this change led to a new product, peanut butter cups with nutcracker-shaped chocolate figures which was popular with consumers in the US during Christmas 2020.
Beyond consumption: Creative ways to deliver an experience at home
In addition to enhancing the sensorial experience of product consumption, bringing the experience inside homes to generate more consumer-product interactions is also key. Whether it is for a normal occasion, a special one or for gifting, snacks can elevate the consumer experience by providing entertainment and making a product more memorable. In South Korea, jellies and packaging mimicking bento boxes that would normally be consumed at lunch when working from the office, were released in 2020. The new product targets working-from-home consumers with a simple and fun way to reminisce life before COVID-19. In the US, Ferrara approached Christmas 2020 with Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip, which appeals to the nostalgia of traditional candy canes but comes with a cherry dip in a fun pouch. Hershey’s Christmas range of BuildA-Santa and Build-A-Snowman, inviting children to “play with their food” by offering chocolates made of various shaped parts was reconducted for Easter 2021 with a new Build-A-Bunny version.
© Euromonitor International
