Sour Patch Kids Oreos? Peeps Pepsi? What’s behind the weird flavors popping up on store shelves

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Van Leeuwen Ice Cream usually attracts customers with gourmet classics like vanilla and pistachio. But sometimes, the New York-headquartered artisan ice cream maker slips into what it calls “flavor shock,” like Hidden Valley Ranch or pizza.

Surprising flavor combinations — like Jones Soda Broth or Sour Patch Kids Oreos — are popping up frequently in grocery stores and restaurant chains. Hershey's recently introduced a Pink Lemonade-flavored KitKat, while IHOP and Lay's have rolled out Rooty Tooty Fresh n' Fruity potato chips, designed to taste like strawberry-topped pancakes with a hint of bacon.

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While it's tempting to pass off these limited-time flavors as social media stunts, experts say there's more to the story. Food companies are responding to changing and expanding consumer tastes while also trying to keep brands relevant and distinct to win space on crowded store shelves.

“We're in a really exciting time in flavor development where consumers aren't limited to just one thing. You're not just a sour lover or a sweet lover. You want a little bit of “That and a little bit of that.” “Businesses are finding the freedom to explore more and get more creative.”

Sour Patch Kids Oreos — a cookie filled with vanilla cream and speckled with colorful bits of sour candy — are one of about a dozen limited-edition Oreo flavors that Mondelez plans to release this year. Brown said it takes the company a year or two to develop such products, which stay on shelves for about nine weeks. She's already thinking about future flavors that blur the lines between sweet, salty and spicy.

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Oddball pairings aren't exactly new to the food and beverage industry. For example, Hubba Bubba released a bubble gum-flavored soft drink in the late 1980s. But Mark Lange, a food marketing expert and assistant professor of marketing at the University of Tampa, said manufacturers and their suppliers have become more sophisticated and efficient, making it easier to experiment and roll out limited editions more frequently.

Members of Generation Z are also fueling innovation, said Kyle Shaddix, who as PepsiCo's executive research chef worked on drinks such as Maple Pepsi and Strawberry Pepsi Cake sold in Japan. They are diverse, adventurous and pick up food trends quickly through social media, he said.

“The design is every chef’s dream,” said Shaddix, who is currently experimenting with lots of Mexican, Korean and Japanese flavors. “Generation Z will lead us faster. We will start to see more exploration faster than in the past because they are so open to it.

Playing with flavors can enhance brands in many ways. Sometimes they bring new customers to the brand. They may also prompt buyers to pick up on the authentic flavor, said Russell Zwanka, director of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University.

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“Sour Patch Oreos seem interesting, but no one wants to risk buying tasteless Oreos, so people buy both,” Zwanka said.

When companies combine brands, they are trying to build an association in the minds of consumers. Pepsi-flavored Pepsi, released last year, sends a message that Pepsi is modern and fun, Lang said. Mustard-flavored Skittles, released last summer, made the 104-year-old French brand look fun.

Enter Kraft Heinz, which approached Van Leeuwen Ice Cream a few years ago about macaroni and cheese-flavored ice cream. Ben Van Leeuwen, the company's co-founder and CEO, was skeptical at first but found that Kraft's powder mixed well with the Brooklyn-based company's ice cream.

Van Leeuwen's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Ice Cream received positive reviews in 2021 and was briefly re-released last fall.

“We won't introduce a shock flavor unless we can make it good and stand out. We won't introduce a shock flavor where it's just shock in name but tastes like vanilla,” Van Leeuwen said.

But new flavor combinations don't always work. Van Leeuwen couldn't eat more than a few bites of his company's Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream, which contains onion and garlic powders. Shocking flavors typically don't end up on the permanent menu because of their low “eatability,” he said.

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“I think you'll taste our macaroni and cheese and say, 'Oh, that's good,' but do you want to grab a pint of that macaroni and cheese from the fridge when you're watching any show on Netflix and eat it?” The whole thing? “Probably not,” Van Leeuwen said.

The Candy Brach's brand faced this problem with its Candy Corn Turkey Dinner, a limited-edition 2021 version of the fall staple that tasted like turkey, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, apple pie and coffee. There is a “gross” factor, acknowledged Katie Duffy, vice president and general manager of seasonal affairs at Ferrara Candy Co., which owns Brach's.

“We've learned from consumers that we don't want to have something where they eat a few pieces of candy and then throw them away because there are some things they don't want to repeat,” Duffy said. “We want it to be a delicious flavor trip.”

Brash recently introduced Easter-flavored jelly beans, and they hit that mark, she said. The candy cereal mimics the flavors of blueberry maple pancakes, chocolate donuts, caramel cold brew, cinnamon rolls, berry smoothies, and mimosa cocktails.

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Shannon Weiner, Ferrara's senior director of insights and analytics, said the company follows social media closely to see what flavors are trending. She said people are increasingly looking for dairy-flavored candy and desserts. They're also looking at more international flavors like Tajin, a chili seasoning brand from Mexico that recently collaborated with Pop Tarts.

Lang believes that the more time people spend in restaurants or trying new foods, the more they search for unusual flavours.

“We're animals that seek variety. We're constantly looking for something new and different; it's in our wiring,” he said. “We like to experiment.”

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