Holiday Flavors

What have you seen as a new holiday “flavors”?

8:46PM EST November 18. 2012 – Every year, before the Thanksgiving turkey hits the platter, America’s food giants decide that consumers want to celebrate the holidays with something they can’t get the rest of the year: weird flavors.

Not only is holiday 2012 no exception, but things appear to be getting even weirder. Like candy cane-flavored Pringles. Like Gingerbread shakes at Red Robin — with a shot of Jim Beam for grown-ups. And, yes, chocolate truffle ChapStick.

This isn’t just about Christmas spirit. It’s about competition for consumer purchases during the food world’s most lucrative time of the year.

Or so these categories ho-ho hope:— Chips. Holiday-flavored chips? Pringles now comes in Cinnamon & Sugar, White Chocolate Peppermint and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Reason: The brand has great success with new flavors the rest of the year, says Angela Gusse, associate marketing director.
— Shakes. A Gingerbread Shake is part of Red Robin’s holiday line. “Powerfully positive emotions are aroused by sense memories,” explains Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer. The first Gingerbread Shake of the season, she says, signals “party on!”

— Sundaes. Burger King has rolled out a Gingerbread Cookie Sundae. “Nothing evokes the holiday spirit like the taste of gingerbread,” says Eric Hirschhorn, vice president of global innovation….