Baking&Snack - September 2011 - 154

154

NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Yeah,
I Want Cheesy Poofs!
A cartoon snack makes its debuts on real world shelves.

n a small, snowy town in Colorado, a young boy sits on a couch watching cartoons and opens a bag of Cheesy Poofs, inhaling the cheesy scent and digging into the salty snack. It’s not just a familiar scene from South Park but a limited-time reality. As part of its Year of the Fan celebration marking its 15th season, South Park partnered with salty snacks giant Frito-Lay North America, Plano, TX, to bring the puffs — “packed with ingredients,” according to the show — to life. “We thought, ‘What better product to launch at this time than Cheesy Poofs, which has been really legendary and has been part of the story of South Park since season two, when Cheesy Poofs appeared?’” said Leigh Anne Brodsky, president, consumer products, Nickelodeon and Viacom, New York, NY. Viacom

is the parent company of Comedy Central, which has aired the adultoriented animated series since its debut in 1997. “We believe this is the first time an edible product based on South Park has been created.” The team behind Cheesy Poofs’ creation worked closely with Frito-Lay’s R&D department to make sure the Cheesy Poofs flavor would ring true for fans of the show as well as snack lovers in general. “We think that because we are with the best in the snack food business that Frito-Lay is going to deliver on something that’s certainly going to be tasty and is going to be something that people want to try again and again,” Ms. Brodsky said. The packaging was designed to match the Cheesy Poofs product as seen on South Park, according to Ms. Brodsky. “We wanted to make sure the product tasted great, that the product looked and felt like it was authentic to the show and that it really

delivered on what we think the fans want,” she said. Fans got their first taste of the South Park snack in swag distributed at the mid-July Comic-Con in San Diego, CA. Those who missed out at the convention need not despair, though. The snacks were initially available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores from Aug. 28 through Sept. 18. A 9.75-oz bag retails for $2.99 and a 3-oz bag for 99¢. When asked if the run might be extended, Ms. Brodsky said, “You never know. Basically, we wanted to walk before we run, and we want to make sure it’s something the consumer wants.” The products could fly off shelves as quickly as they flew into fans’ hands at Comic-Con. “Anytime anybody hears about it, it brings a smile to their face, and they laugh,” Ms. Brodsky said. “It’s got a really great theme song, so we think it’ll be memorable to people. They’ll hear the song, they’ll taste the chip, and they’ll be hooked on it.” And as South Park fans know from that catchy theme song, “If we didn’t eat Cheesy Poofs, we’d be lame.” ◾ — Lucy Sutton

BAKING & SNACK / September 2011

www.bakingbusiness.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com

Baking&Snack - September 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking&Snack - September 2011