King’s Hawaiian® Soft Pretzel Bites: Already A Sweet Success
For 75 years, King’s Hawaiian has delighted consumers with its soft, sweet Hawaiian bread, buns and rolls. Now the company has moved beyond side and center-of-plate options with the national launch of Original Hawaiian Sweet Soft Pretzel Bites — its first foray into the growing and ever-evolving snack category.
As a family-owned company, King’s Hawaiian is solely focused on creating products it is confident will delight consumers and retailers alike. With an incredibly high net promoter score compared with other large CPG brands, it is well positioned to drive incremental sales for the bakery/deli department with this irresistible entrant into the snacking category.
The three-year journey to perfect Pretzel Bites was worth the wait to bring a new and completely irresistible product to market. Since launch, grocers have expressed their excitement about this new item by proactively putting Pretzel Bites in secondary placements around the store, alongside complementary items like cheese dips, beer and other condiments, often incorporating them into perimeter displays.
Early sales performance* has shown that because Pretzel Bites pair so well with other items, they are driving bigger basket sizes on average for those buying them, with about a 16% increase in spend per trip. Initial data also shows that nearly 50% of Pretzel Bites buyers are new to the King’s Hawaiian brand, with many shoppers also being new to the category.
“While it’s still early, we know from extensive internal testing that the product has a high repeat purchase rate, so our focus is supporting trial-driving activities throughout the year to grow our awareness, especially leading up to the Big Game. We’ve also seen initial velocities average two to three times those of our closest competitor in the soft-pretzel snacking category,” says King’s Hawaiian CMO Raouf Moussa.
To drive consumer awareness of Pretzel Bites, King’s Hawaiian rolled out a robust national sampling tour as well as significant omnichannel and in-store retail support. It plans to go big with media support leading into the holidays through the weeks leading up to the Big Game. Impactful TV commercials featuring Peyton and Eli Manning will continue to air, letting consumers know about Original Hawaiian Sweet Soft Pretzel Bites and encouraging them to stock up for their game-watch parties. Exciting partnerships with other popular national brands are also planned to provide shoppers with easy and delicious snacking solutions.
King’s Hawaiian Pretzel Bites are available at national and regional retailers across the country (10.2-ounce package, MSRP $7.99-$8.99).
For more information, please reach out to your Irresistible Foods Group representative.
*Source: Numerator Insights Lapsed Repeat New – Total Pretzels, L26W ending 08/11/2024 vs. PP.