Every time I head into the grocery store it’s almost too easy to find food brands mixing two different foods that really shouldn’t be coming within ten feet of each other. Everywhere you look there’s Dr Pepper Peeps, Fruity Pebbles Digiorno Pizza, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Ice Cream, Sour Patch Kids Oreos, Mustard Skittles and Donut Burgers. Have food brands just collectively lost their minds? Why are we trying to mash together whatever foods together that don’t have any synergy?
I have tried these weird food combinations for myself and they’re almost never good. There was only one instance where I’ve tried something like this and have liked it, which was Sour Patch Kids Ice Cream. Never has anything like it worked even remotely well, even the Sour Patch Kids Blizzard that Dairy Queen had a few years back. There’s a market for this kind of food as well because food brands keep on making them.
According to Bakemag, “The market research firm noted how these kinds of offerings tap into brand awareness and trust to bridge consumer audiences and product categories. For instance, ice cream maker Froneri International earlier this year added mini bites to its roster of Oreo frozen desserts” and that “Brand familiarity also spurs customers to try something new or different. Twenty-six percent of US adults surveyed by market intelligence firm Mintel said they’re more likely to try an unfamiliar flavor from a brand they know — a percentage that climbs to 32% of those ages 18 to 34 and 31% of those ages 35 to 44.”
Brand recognition makes sense, as collaborations between popular brands tend to garner attention, however there’s a certain limit to these things. Combining foods isn’t inherently bad, it can even work brilliantly in certain circumstances, however food brands can’t just throw whatever comes to mind at the wall and hope it sticks, otherwise you get the most uninspired slop like Chocolate Pizza.
