Packaging

Planters has introduced four new peanut flavors to its product lineup. Consumers can now choose from Salted Caramel, Cocoa, Chipotle and Smoked flavors.

The brand incorporated both culinary trends and fan feedback when developing the new varieties, which pack up to 7 g of protein and at least four essential nutrients per serving.

Skechers was not always a brand one associates with running, but times are changing. The brand’s performance division has signed long-distance runner Kara Goucher to its Performance Elite Team.

The multi-year agreement names Skechers Performance Division as Goucher’s official footwear sponsor and will feature the world-class female runner in global marketing and advertising campaigns.

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts, has launched “FinDD Eli”, an interactive on-the-cup instant win game available in the New York metro area. The peel-and-reveal game will be featured on specially marked medium and large iced beverage cups at participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants, while supplies last

San Jose – PayPal is rebranding itself in an effort designed to create a cohesive look and feel across the brand. The program includes a new logo and an omni-channel campaign called “powering the people economy.”

As part of a competition between Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles to see which cereal is more popular with fans, Post Foods announced two professional American soccer players to grace its cereal boxes. Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy will join WWE star John Cena on Team Fruity, while Olympic gold medalist and forward of the Portland Thorns, Alex Morgan, will join basketball star Kyrie Irving on Team Cocoa.

Tic Tac mints has launched limited edition Summer Ice Pop Tic Tac mints. The combination of blue berry-flavored pills, red cherry-flavored pills and white lime-flavored pills aims to offer consumers a nostalgic reminder of summertime, the company said.

New York – Aeropostale has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against rival specialty apparel retailer H&M. The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that H&M used the phrase “Live Love Dream,” trademarked by Aeropostale, on apparel and accessory items.

Aeropostale says it notified H&M of the infringement, but H&M did not cease using the trademarked phrase. H&M has not publicly responded to the suit yet.

The challenges for a small/medium CPG company today, competing against the multibillion dollar conglomerates, are greater than ever before. With the skyrocketing cost of freight, manufacturing, raw materials, sales and marketing, the small/medium CPG company does not enjoy any of the economies of scale that the established multi nationals do. Competing in the low margin highly competitive beverage category, as we do at Celsius, only accentuates the challenge.

Ale or Lager? Stout? Lambic? Pilsner? These are the questions candy makers at Jelly Belly Candy Company asked themselves before creating what they say is the world’s first beer flavored jelly bean.

In the end, the company opted to pay homage to its German ancestry with a Hefeweizen-inspired ale flavor, and Draft Beer Jelly Belly jelly beans took shape. The new flavor is now available in bulk and a single-flavor 3.5-oz Grab & Go bag.

GNC Holdings latest national brand campaign, called "Beat Average," includes a mix of network prime, premium and targeted cable, out-of-home, newspaper, magazine and online media.