Wholesale Report

It’s that strange time of year when some distributors are enjoying 80º temperatures while others are still shoveling snow, so we have a mixture of products.

As long as there’s cold weather, you’ll have a market for Swiss Miss. Their single-serve packets are a must for locations with microwaves. Try Premiere Cappuccino, Spiced Apple Cider, or their famous Hot Cocoa mix (in Milk Chocolate, Marshmallow, and No Sugar Added versions).

And moving into warmer weather: VeryFine Chillers, available in 11.5 oz. cans, have twice the juice content of most others in their category, and are now fortified with calcium, vitamins A, B3, B6, B12, and 100% vitamin C.

The Willy Wonka Candy Factory (yes, there really is such a place) has new Chewy Tart N Tinys, joining regular Tart N Tinys, with “Big Tart Taste, Lots of Tiny Bites.”

Tortilla chip lovers have a new goodie: Procter & Gamble staged a Hollywood-style premiere to introduce Torengos, a triangular, white-corn tortilla chip that’s curved for dipping. Watch for the vending size to arrive soon.

3-D’s Maximum Cheddar is the new item from Frito-Lay. It’s not a chip, not quite a cracker ...and it has “turbo spiral” markings on it ...

Pepsico has announced the formation of  the “Power Brand Partnership”,  which will feature cross-marketing of corporate brands. In practical terms, that means that Frito-Lay, Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana (all now owned by Pepsico) should be offering extra discounts and incentives to use products from these four companies. We’ll keep you posted as the Partnership develops.

Welch’s announces new Grape Lemonade (it takes a moment to imagine that), available in 11.5-oz. cans.  Welch’s reports an 8% increase in lemonade sales over the last year, so this might be a product to watch.

Old Colony, long known for its Gourmet Fudge Brownies and Chocolate Chip Bars, is now offering Lemon Bars, flavored with “ReaLemon” brand lemon juice, fresh eggs, and enriched wheat flour. It’s part of Old Colony’s ‘Long Shelf Life’ line, with 10-12 weeks of shelf life. Of course, they won’t be around that long if you’ve got locations that love lemon!

Archway/Mother’s has a Vending Rewards program to promote their vending line of cookies: Circus Animal Cookies, ABC Cinnamon Grahams, ABC Sugar Cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies, and Ginger Snaps. Check with your wholesaler for details.

Kraft announced new sizes of their popular Planters peanuts; Salted & Honey Roasted, Lightly Salted Dry Roasted, Lightly Salted Cocktail, and Heat-N-Spicy Peanuts, are all available in 1.75-oz. packages. The Salted and Honey Roasted varieties remain at the 1-oz. size (but Sunflower Seeds come in 2-oz. packages).

Distributors who provide  office coffee services know that with OCS, there are occasional coffee spills, and it’s frustrating to have the cardboard or bagged sugar and creamer containers get soggy. The Diamond Crystal lines of Dixie Crystals (sugar crystals) and Cream White (non-dairy creamer) feature containers that are moisture and crush resistant, and have metal bottoms so there’s no problem with spillage.

One of the oldest candies gets a facelift: M&M/Mars has improved 3 Musketeers (70 years old and counting!) with richer milk chocolate and more chocolate in the fluffy center. They’ve also designed contemporary packaging, and will be advertising heavily. They’ve especially targeted women in the 25-49 age group, using the “You Deserve It!” slogan. Well, they do!It’s that strange time of year when some distributors are enjoying 80º temperatures while others are still shoveling snow, so we have a mixture of products.

As long as there’s cold weather, you’ll have a market for Swiss Miss. Their single-serve packets are a must for locations with microwaves. Try Premiere Cappuccino, Spiced Apple Cider, or their famous Hot Cocoa mix (in Milk Chocolate, Marshmallow, and No Sugar Added versions).

And moving into warmer weather: VeryFine Chillers, available in 11.5 oz. cans, have twice the juice content of most others in their category, and are now fortified with calcium, vitamins A, B3, B6, B12, and 100% vitamin C.

The Willy Wonka Candy Factory (yes, there really is such a place) has new Chewy Tart N Tinys, joining regular Tart N Tinys, with “Big Tart Taste, Lots of Tiny Bites.”

Tortilla chip lovers have a new goodie: Procter & Gamble staged a Hollywood-style premiere to introduce Torengos, a triangular, white-corn tortilla chip that’s curved for dipping. Watch for the vending size to arrive soon.

3-D’s Maximum Cheddar is the new item from Frito-Lay. It’s not a chip, not quite a cracker ...and it has “turbo spiral” markings on it ...

Pepsico has announced the formation of  the “Power Brand Partnership”,  which will feature cross-marketing of corporate brands. In practical terms, that means that Frito-Lay, Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana (all now owned by Pepsico) should be offering extra discounts and incentives to use products from these four companies. We’ll keep you posted as the Partnership develops.

Welch’s announces new Grape Lemonade (it takes a moment to imagine that), available in 11.5-oz. cans.  Welch’s reports an 8% increase in lemonade sales over the last year, so this might be a product to watch.

Old Colony, long known for its Gourmet Fudge Brownies and Chocolate Chip Bars, is now offering Lemon Bars, flavored with “ReaLemon” brand lemon juice, fresh eggs, and enriched wheat flour. It’s part of Old Colony’s ‘Long Shelf Life’ line, with 10-12 weeks of shelf life. Of course, they won’t be around that long if you’ve got locations that love lemon!

Archway/Mother’s has a Vending Rewards program to promote their vending line of cookies: Circus Animal Cookies, ABC Cinnamon Grahams, ABC Sugar Cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies, and Ginger Snaps. Check with your wholesaler for details.

Kraft announced new sizes of their popular Planters peanuts; Salted & Honey Roasted, Lightly Salted Dry Roasted, Lightly Salted Cocktail, and Heat-N-Spicy Peanuts, are all available in 1.75-oz. packages. The Salted and Honey Roasted varieties remain at the 1-oz. size (but Sunflower Seeds come in 2-oz. packages).

Distributors who provide  office coffee services know that with OCS, there are occasional coffee spills, and it’s frustrating to have the cardboard or bagged sugar and creamer containers get soggy. The Diamond Crystal lines of Dixie Crystals (sugar crystals) and Cream White (non-dairy creamer) feature containers that are moisture and crush resistant, and have metal bottoms so there’s no problem with spillage.

One of the oldest candies gets a facelift: M&M/Mars has improved 3 Musketeers (70 years old and counting!) with richer milk chocolate and more chocolate in the fluffy center. They’ve also designed contemporary packaging, and will be advertising heavily. They’ve especially targeted women in the 25-49 age group, using the “You Deserve It!” slogan. Well, they do!