• 🥩 Cultivated Meat's Harsh Truth
• 🎢 YouTuber Takes The Driver Seat At Joyride Candy
• 🆕 Gallery: This Week’s Hot New Products
• 🤑 Grocery Outlet Expands with Acquisition
• 🕊️ Pop Tart Inventor Dies at 96

It's no secret that Super Bowl LVII (and every past Super Bowl for that matter) was as much about that game played between the commercial breaks as it was about the brands who threw down $7 million for 30-seconds of fame. But how does a company justify shelling out that kind of cash – without knowing for sure whether it will be worth it?

Aside from Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s team, data from GoPuff points to a handful of clear winners. Lindor Chocolate saw the biggest ROI after its new “Life Is A Ball” campaign aired, with unit sales spiking 231% on the ultra-fast delivery platform. 

Starry and Nerds both saw a 186% increase in sales on the platform during and in the hour after the game (We hear they are still trying to break the tie in overtime). Poppi (66%), M&Ms (48%) and Oreo (40%) all saw notable spikes as well. 

“Spots during the Big Game are among the most expensive ads available – but it’s difficult to leverage those commercials to drive immediate sales or measure the immediate impact of that huge investment,” said Daniel Folkman, Gopuff’s SVP of Business. It appears this year at least, CPG companies were fairly successful in doing just that. 

Behavioral research company Veylinx also tracked a correlation between a brand’s Super Bowl commercial and a boost in demand for its products. The firm homed in on eight companies: Michelob Ultra, Hellmann's Mayo, Pringles, e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Dove, Doritos Dinamita and Mtn Dew Baja Blast.

A quick sidebar for the sober curious crowd: 56% of Veylinx respondents said they didn't drink any alcohol at all during the game. 

But among Gen Z watchers, ads for Doritos Dinamita, Dove and e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter generated the highest spikes in consumer demand. Notably, Doritos took a celebrity centric approach that featured actress Jenna Ortega and actor Danny Ramirez while embracing the generations’ affinity for “absurdism”-style humor.

And while Poppi has stepped up to claim the title for most watched Super Bowl ad (according to analytics firm Samba TV), Dan O’s Seasoning this week launched the alter ego of all Super Bowl Ads with a campaign dubbed the "Smallest Ad Ever." The seasoning company is offering brands a chance to feature their ad along the bottom of a bottle of Dan-O’s. For reference, that means squeezing something memorable onto a 3.5 oz shaker bottle that often gets lost in the back of a cabinet anyways. 

But the most notable value from those ads may be symbolic, rather than tangible: Amidst a sea of giant corporations with eye-watering marketing budgets, some savvy independents can still claim a piece of the Big Game commercial bonanza.

"We're flavor rich, but not RICH rich. If you’re a brand without the big budget for the big game, this ad’s for you," said the Dan O’s team.

Valentine’s might be behind us but that didn’t stop Nosh managing editor Monica Watrous and reporters Lukas Southard and Brad Avery from swooning over Subway’s recent marketing gimmick: speed dating over foot-long subs. The team goes on to discuss the many challenges of food tech companies and why inflated investment has set up unrealistic expectations for cell-cultured meat and seafood startups. They also debated how lessons from plant-based might offer reasonable conjecture on consumer adoption and product innovation moving forward.

Mr. Beast is not the only YouTube sensation with a sweet tooth, Ryan Trahan, whose channel has a whopping 14.7 million subscribers, has taken an ownership stake in low-sugar candy brand Joyride. Not only has Trahan become a part owner but he will be steering the company’s product innovation and marketing strategy as chief creative officer.

😖 Joyride announced the launch of its new four-SKU line of sour strips (Pink Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, Green Apple and Strawberry) with a 5-minute video on Trahan’s YouTube channel.

🍬 Launched by entrepreneur Tyler Merrick in 2008 as Project 7, the company raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round and rebranded as Joyride in 2022. Over the years, Joyride has released a variety of gummy and sour confections with lower sugar content and fewer net carbs.

Check out the full story for more on what this means for Joyride on Nosh.

Mean Girls-themed popcorn, kelp-based nutrition powders and veggie-based SUPER FRIES. This week’s edition of Nosh’s New Products is full of surprises. Here’s a brief overview: 

🌊 Massachusetts-based Offshore Greens looks to make a splash in the health supplement market with the debut of its Whole Body Blend nutrition powder. Available in two flavors – Original and Cinnamon Chai – the kelp-based product packs 20 grams of plant-based protein and 6 grams of collagen per serving. 

🍿 That’s so fetch! Rob’s Backstage Popcorn kicks off its Movie Theater Butter journey alongside Mean Girls as the film celebrates its 20th anniversary. The new offering is available exclusively at Sam’s Club for $5.98 per 12 oz. bag. 

🍟 Actual Veggies aims to reinvent the french fry with its new line of SUPER FRIES. Available in three varieties – Classic Potato, Purple Sweet Potato and Sweet Potato – the snack is made with avocado oil and boasts 5 grams to 6 grams of protein, depending on the variety. 

Check out the full new products gallery on Nosh. 

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. is acquiring “extreme value” retailer United Grocery Outlet from affiliates of Gen Cap America, Inc.. and current and former management. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

🛒 The deal will bring United Grocery Outlet’s distribution center and 40 stores spanning Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia under Grocery Outlet’s ownership. The chain offers a “treasure hunt shopping environment” selling discounted national and regional brands.

▶️ Grocery Outlet operates more than 460 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, Maryland, New Jersey and Ohio. In addition to the acquired stores, the company plans to open 15 to 20 stores in existing markets this year.

💭 “This acquisition provides Grocery Outlet with scale in a new region as well as a platform for future expansion in the Southeast,” RJ Sheedy, president and CEO of Grocery Outlet, said in a statement.

William “Bill” Post, the inventor of popular toaster pastry brand Pop Tarts, passed away this week at the age of 96, as reported by NBC.

⏪ Post was serving as the plant manager for Michigan-based Hekman Biscuit Co., later known as Keebler Co., when Kellogg’s asked the company to create a new breakfast item they had in mind. And thus, the Pop Tart was born. 

💭 “To be accurate, Bill would say, ‘I assembled an amazing team that developed Kellogg’s concept of a shelf-stable toaster pastry into a fine product that we could bring to market in the span of just four months,” his obituary reads.