Why your snack cabinet will start to feel more like a Marvel movie.
Sitting in a plush recliner seat in 2012, I was thrilled as a flurry of red images burst on screen to open my first viewing of The Avengers. Up to that point, movies to me had functioned more as concerts than music festivals; I would have much rather luxuriated in the depth of a single artist’s catalog than the greatest hits of multiple acts. My enjoyment of the hero’s journey on screen was wrapped in the simplicity of the experience; one hero triumphing over one villain, maybe two or three if the Herculean limits of said hero were to face even greater odds. While The Avengers was not the first Marvel attempt to break through the uni-hero mold (I’m looking at you, my beloved Spider-Man 3), it was the first movie I had seen capture truly outsized monetary value in the cultural currency of the cinematic universe. As the Avengers squad united in a rotating pan – weaponry at the ready, triumphant horns blaring inspirational tones – I felt my first blast of giddiness at the mashing of all these characters into one cultural product.
In the world of consumer packaged goods (“CPG”), I would argue that the same cultural delight heralded by Marvel’s superhero franchises is arising in the universification of our favorite products to eat and drink. “CPG universification” involves blending seemingly disparate brands and products to create unexpected combinations, generating buzz and a reconceptualization of CPG as entertainment. Perhaps no company has better understood the entertainment value of CPG than Liquid Death, from its intentionally kitschy “Murder your thirst” tagline on its tallboy water cans to a publicity stunt in which the Company offered a fighter jet as a giveaway prize, poking fun at Pepsi’s notorious 1996 campaign. The water company even recently introduced the first hot fudge sundae sparkling water in collaboration with the growing ice cream chain, Van Leeuwen. While one intuitively understands that there is likely not a huge underdiscovered market niche for hot sundae waters (or even a smaller, more dismal niche for Pepsi’s Peeps soda), this wacky collaboration is a critical prong in the company’s entertainment-forward marketing strategy, creating a universe in which water and hot fudge sundaes can make sense to consume at once.
Unlocking the brand equity accessible in these surprise moments offers a critical competitive advantage in a consumer environment in which private label products grew unit mix by 0.7% and grew dollar sales by 6% in 2023. Many brands are betting big on the economic effect of joining seemingly disparate products, assuming splashy launches will attract consumers’ attention away from cheaper substitutes. With their eccentric products in hand, brands are asking consumers, “Does it even matter if it tastes good, as long as it intrigues you?” In mid-August, self-dubbed “bestie” brands, Oreo and Coca-Cola, launched limited edition sandwich cookies and drinks mixing the familiar tastes of two iconic brands to yield an unexpected surprise-and-delight for customers. On the salty side of the aisle, Cheez-It partnered with Hidden Valley for their June release of Cheez-It x Hidden Valley Ranch Crackers, following the successful launch of Hidden Valley Ranch's Cheezy Ranch Condiment & Dressing. Certain brands have even become more explicit in their aim to be associated with entertainment. Netflix launched a branded popcorn with Indiana Popcorn, featuring flavors such as Cult Classic Cheddar Kettle Corn and Swoonworthy Cinnamon Kettle Corn to enjoy while watching one’s favorite new show. Meanwhile, the surging prebiotic soda company, Olipop, released its newest flavor, Olipop x Barbie Peaches & Cream, in collaboration with Mattel to massive success, outselling eggs at the supermarket Sprouts during its launch.
On the heels of such innovation and continued pressure from thrifty customers trading down to private label substitutes, Mars announced a $36 billion deal to acquire Kellanova, known for iconic brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, NutriGrain, Eggo, Kellogg’s (international) and RXBAR. Late last year, Kellanova was created by Kellogg’s, which spun off its North American cereal business, now known as WK Kellogg Co., from its snack business, now known as Kellanova. Kellanova has outperformed its peers since the spinoff, growing comparable sales 4% year-over-year and raising its full-year 2024 guidance.
Mars has historically been prized for its chocolate-forward portfolio, owning such brands as M&Ms, Snickers, Extra, Kind, Trufru, Twix, Skittles, Hubba Bubba, Altoids, 3 Musketeers, and more. A private company, Mars has struggled as U.S. chocolate sales have dropped by 5.5% over the past year following a run-up in cocoa prices. Together with Kellanova and pending antitrust review, Mars would control 8% of the U.S. snack market, rivaling its largest competitor, PepsiCo, which commands a 9% share. Importantly, there is limited overlap between the two companies’ product portfolios, with Mars having a larger presence in confections and chocolate snacking while Kellanova has a larger presence in salty snacks. Combined, Mars and Kellanova would control seven snack and confectionery brands generating over $1 billion of sales a year, creating a tremendous platform for innovation with meaningful dollar impact to win back the many customers who have turned away from the allure of branded products for private label substitutes.
Such investment in innovation will be necessary to serve the notable uptick in snacking over the past few years. Nearly half of U.S. consumers are eating three or more snacks a day, up 8% in the past two years, according to a report published by Circana Group in 2023. Meanwhile, snack discovery is increasingly associated with forms of entertainment. According to Mondelez International, 56% of global consumers find snack information on social media, while 54% report finding snack information through video content such as YouTube. It is reasonable to envision a product roadmap in which snacking follows the trajectory of a film – from discovery online, to the main event of delightful consumption, to the glowing review or taste test on TikTok.
As CPG crystallizes as an entertainment vessel, the realizable value of brand equity will increase. Just as Mattel is mining its intellectual property for a slate of upcoming films after the success of Barbie, I would not be surprised to both see continued intra-company cross-pollination of CPG products (I’m personally waiting for Eggos baked with M&Ms, or Skittles flavored Pop-Tarts, or Twix Rice Crispies from Mars) as well as the diversification of CPG into entertainment vehicles, a tradition Mars has already employed for many years with its “spokescandy” cast of M&Ms characters. Surely there may be brand dilution and consumer confusion if conglomerates over-rotate into collaborations and gimmicks, but ultimately, I believe Mars is smartly capitalizing on the delightful entertainment that is the universification of U.S. snack cabinets. The opportunity for CPG companies to capture outsized economic value will depend on their ability to entice consumers with undreamt-of treats, calling each other into delicious marriages from across the aisle.
Jake Goodman (MBA ’26) is originally from Davie, Florida. He graduated from Brown University with an honors degree in English and Economics in 2019. Prior to HBS, Jake worked in corporate development, strategic finance, and retail strategy and operations at Gopuff, a rapid convenience app, in Miami, and for Barclays in New York City. He is an avid banjo and guitar player and misses the Florida sun dearly.
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