Molson Coors Beverage Company has launched a £6.6m marketing campaign for its flagship lager brand Carling.
The investment sees the UK’s best-selling lager’ back on TV screens with its first television advertisement in two years.
The new campaign is built around the concept that people’s friends – “mates” – make them who they are and champions everyday, relatable stories of “mateship”. Activations across TV, social and video-on-demand are tied together by the strapline “We’re Made by Our Mates”.
“We all know having mates, proper mates, is a powerful thing," said Lee Willett, Carling Brand Director. "With this campaign we wanted to champion the relationships that make us who we are and bring those relatable moments with mates to life through a series of affectionate, authentic and character-driven ads.
“Staying true to our Carling roots in football, our first ad kicks off with a group of friends watching a game together – with a bit of Carling humour thrown in. And like our Made Local campaign, we even have some of our Carling teammates in the ads, which we loved being able to do again.”
The campaign is a continuation of Carling’s “Made Local” campaign which championed people who make a difference in their hometown and highlighted Carling’s integral relationship with the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The latest series in the campaign welcomes mates back together after the impact of the Covid pandemic.
“While the original ‘Made Local’ campaign shone a light on the neighbourhoods, communities and initiatives that make our society what it is, this new execution celebrates those simple moments of friendship that mean the world and deserve to be cherished,” Willett added.
The “We’re Made by Our Mates” campaign launches from the beginning of September, with ads airing on TV, including Sky Pubs, alongside sport and other high-reach programming throughout the rest of 2022. A second phase of football-related ads will launch on ITV in November.
The campaign launches shortly after Carling’s most recent collaboration with mental health charity the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). The campaign – “More than a game” – saw Carling team up with CALM and ex-footballers Darren Bent and Marvin Sordell to champion the power of grassroots football to bring people together, on and off the pitch. The campaign raised awareness of an online mental health playbook, created by CALM and filled with advice on how teammates can help to look out for each other, for grassroots football teams across the UK.
Luxury chocolate brand Cox & Co. is targeting dark chocolate lovers with its brand new Blood Orange Crunch bar, crafted from 60 per cent single-origin Colombian cacao.
With almost two-thirds of chocolate buyers enjoying two or more flavours in a chocolate bar, it’s easy to see why Cox & Co.’s flavour combinations of velvety rich dark chocolate and delicious superfoods are so popular and its latest addition to the range is sure to be no different.
Blood orange is characterised by its deep red flesh and sweet citrusy taste and in its new Blood Orange Crunch Bar, Cox & Co. has paired Blood Orange oil with raw cacao nibs for a zesty flavour, and balanced it with subtle vanilla notes and a moreish crunch.
“We are thrilled to be launching a brand new flavour of our popular 75g dark chocolate bars. Orange-flavoured chocolate is one of the most sought-after amongst chocolate buyers, so we wanted to deliver on this, but with a Cox & Co. twist!” said founder, Gavin Cox. ”The combination of zesty, citrusy flavours with the slightly bitter coffee notes, make the new Blood Orange Crunch bar the perfect treat for dark chocolate fans.”
Blood Orange Crunch is joining Cox & Co.’s range with six other delicious vegan flavours to choose from, including Miso & Caramel, Mint Crunch, Bee Pollen & Honey, Raw Cacao Nibs, 71 per cent Dark Chocolate and Single Origin Pure Cacao (100 per cent).
“Our original range of dark chocolate bars continue to be our best-selling product, with customers continuing to enjoy the unique flavour combinations, blended with our single-origin Colombian cacao. We expect our new Blood Orange Crunch to be very well received and look forward to hearing what customers think,” added Gavin.
Cox & Co.’s cacao is sourced from Colombia’s Luker Chocolate estate as part of "The Chocolate Dream" initiative, which invests in farmers, communities and sustainable farming methods to produce chocolate that’s as ethical as possible.
Cox & Co.’s NEW Blood Orange Crunch Bar is available to retailers nationwide (priced from £13.50, 3 x 70g bars).
Tapping into “new-stalgia” (an anticipated hot food trend in 2025), Gnaw has been working tirelessly to rethink Great British puddings by creating a number of “Hug in a Mug” classics (Crème Brulée, Bakewell Tart, Sticky Toffee Pud) in conjunction with an impressive “pudfolio” of dessert-flavoured bars: New York Cheesecake, Christmas Pudding, Banoffee Pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Desserts may prove divisive. For many the last course will always be a fitting finale to a great meal spent with friends of family, enticing comfort food that offers a nostalgic peek into happy custard drenched, ice cream topped memories from yesteryear. For others, desserts are an unwitting dalliance with guilt-filled soft sponges, buttery pastry, seductively sweet fillings, crumbly toppings, sticky sauces …
Gnaw’s new-for-Christmas “Hugs in Mugs” hot chocolate and bars represent the perfect halfway house; a fresh twist on timeless classics using hot chocolate and meticulously crafted bars as the perfect portion-controlled mediums for reacquainting our taste buds with sweet-themed flavour marriages from times gone by. After all the very definition of “new-stalgia” is revisiting comforting classics in a cooler, more modern way.
“In today’s fast-paced world, we’ve drawn upon our deep love of quality chocolate and indulgent sweet treats to create our range of gooey-centred choc spoons,” said Gnaw Head of Brand, Muhammad Karim. “Perfect for savouring during precious ‘me-time’ moments Or sharing with someone you love, they’re designed to bring a little dash of luxury to your day.”
120g Gooey Pudding Hot Chocolate Spoons PLUS marshmallows (x3) £11.95
80g Pud bars (Banoffee, New York Cheesecake, Christmas Pud) RSP £3.50
Fresh on the heels of joining The Scottish Bee Company under a Natural Larder umbrella, adult soft drinks evangelist Nuisance Drinks is putting the final touches to a New Year launch of Damson & Dandelion tonic, which will become the latest addition to an exquisitely branded range of low-calorie botanical brews that include: Bramble & Rosemary, Nettle & Elderflower, Pink Grapefruit & Basil, Rhubarb & Ginger and Mint, Chilli and Cucumber.
Born at the height of the Pandemic back in 2020, Nuisance Drinks is an ambitious adult soft drinks business, initially born from the foraging exploits of entrepreneur Hugo Morrisey, who first set out to re-create his mother’s celebrated nettle cordial.
The instant popularity of his quirky brew within the UK’s forward-thinking farmer’s markets convinced Morrisey that there was real potential for a far-reaching range of ambitious flavour marriage soft drinks that paired familiar, everyday flavours with more historically forgotten, left-field ingredients.
Morrisey could see the scope to champion a range of beautifully balanced nostalgic flavours that harked back to simpler times.
“I knew from the outset that I wanted to create a range of clean-deck, low-calorie (less than 50 calories) adult soft drinks with clear sustainable convictions that could be drunk either straight from the can or as the perfect mixer with vodka or gin. In each instance the vision was to blend deliciously distinct everyday flavours with some of the British countryside’s unceremoniously shunned shrubbery,” Morrisey said.
Damson & Dandelion Tonic pairs the light, bitter twang with a hint of sweetness associated with dandelions with the sharp, astringent taste of damsons, tapping into the hot trend of ‘new-stalgia,’ which revisits comforting classics in a cooler, more modern way.
Leading sausage roll brand Wall’s has introduced a brand-new format to the hot pie fixture with the launch of its Deep Dish Pizza Pies, as it aims to add variety and attract younger consumers and families to the chilled savoury pastry category.
The new range is a unique hybrid of a pie and a deep-dish pizza, available in two classic recipes: Three Cheese and Pepperoni (both 150g, RRP £2). Both are now available across the convenience channel, along with Asda.
The launch follows incredible growth for Wall’s, which has doubled in size over the past two and a half years to become a £59 million brand, driven by a series of NPD aimed at attracting younger consumers and tapping into new meal occasions. Its latest fusion has been designed to offer younger shoppers and families new ways to enjoy hot pies in a category traditionally dominated by classic ingredients like steak and chicken, which is typically bought into by older consumers.
The Deep Dish Pizza Pies are filled with popular pizza topping combinations. The Three Cheese recipe features a blend of extra mature cheddar, mozzarella and Red Leicester cheeses, while the Pepperoni version is packed with tomato, extra mature cheddar and pepperoni. Available as an individual serving, the pies offer a convenient hot meal solution that can be oven baked or air fried.
“The typical chilled savoury pastry shopper is older, so the category must become more relevant for younger consumers if it’s going to continue to grow,” Jason Manley, brand director at The Compleat Food Group, home of Wall’s, said.
“Wall’s is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge as a leading brand in chilled savoury pastry, with a strong brand presence and resonance amongst younger shoppers. That’s why we’re innovating within the more traditional categories such as hot pies and introducing greater variety with our Deep Dish Pizza Pies.
“The Wall’s Deep Dish Pizza Pie is ideal for satisfying hungry kids after school, as well as working well as an after-work snack or part of a larger dinner. Launching with two popular pizza toppings, we are confident they will be a hit, and we look forward to introducing more recipes in the new year.”
KP Snacks is refreshing the packaging of Penn State, the UK's number one Pretzel brand, to deliver a bolder and cleaner look that represents its taste and quality. Rolling into stores from mid-November, the redesigned packs run across the entire Penn State range.
With cosy nights-in on the rise, KP Snacks has dialled up Penn State’s taste and quality credentials to reinforce the brand’s appeal within this occasion. Promising rewarding flavour and satisfaction every time, Penn State pretzels offer consumers a well-deserved treat to snack on during relaxing evenings spent at home.
Emphasising its excellent flavour and texture with clearer, more prominent images of the pretzels, the new design also brings the brand’s status as a “baked” snack to the forefront, drawing attention to its position as a lighter snack that consumers can indulge in.
The redesign drives awareness of the Penn State brand at a time when the Pretzel segment is showing strong growth, worth £48.3 million and growing at +15.8 per cent, ahead of the overall Crisps, Snacks and Nuts category (+5.4 per cent).
“We are excited to launch a new Penn State look and feel, designed to attract more shoppers to the brand and encourage them to consider Penn State for a delicious, quality snack for any in-home occasion, whether it’s relaxing after a long day or sharing with family and friends,” said Rachel Horrell, Senior Brand Manager at KP Snacks.
Available in a range of formats to meet all consumer needs and occasions, from its best-selling 175g sharing bags to £1.25 PMPs and six-pack multipacks, the Penn State range features two popular flavours including non-HFSS Sour Cream & Chive and Original Sea Salted, a true classic.