How Blue Diamond Teamed Up With 7-Eleven to Create Slurpee-Flavored Almonds
What’s new: Blue Diamond Growers partnered with 7-Eleven in May to launch exclusive cherry Slurpee-flavored almonds.
What we saw: A floorstand in the store stocked the limited-edition flavor along with the Mike’s Hot Honey almonds that the brand launched in February. The display offered two SKUs for $3.
"We're always looking for new ways to bring fun, unexpected flavor experiences to our customers," Randy Quinn, 7-Eleven senior vice president, merchandising (vault and proprietary beverages), said in a statement. "Cherry has long been one of our most beloved Slurpee drink flavors, and seeing it reimagined in a whole new format is a great way to extend that summertime nostalgia beyond the cup."
Additional support: Blue Diamond plugged the launch on Facebook and Instagram with organic and paid posts. The brand is also doling out samples from The Nutty Cruiser, an almond-shaped vehicle making appearances at summer events such as Chicago's Suenos Music Festival and the Giant BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C.
"Cherry is an iconic summer flavor, so it immediately came to our attention when ideating, and what encapsulates that more than the sweet and refreshing cherry Slurpee drink," Maya Erwin, Blue Diamond vice president of marketing & innovation, said in a statement. "Bringing this flavor to our protein-packed almonds makes it the perfect snack for the flavors you crave in the warmer months, while delivering on our desire to provide consumers with new and exciting flavors."
More context: 7-Eleven regularly partners with brands for exclusives tied to its proprietary frozen drink. The convenience store chain teamed up with Green Day’s Punk Bunny coffee brand in April to launch an exclusive Kerplunk Kandy Grape Slurpee flavor sold in limited-edition collectible cups with QR codes that linked to a Spotify playlist crafted by the brand. Shoppers could use their cup or receipt as a ticket to a co-branded pop-up experience May 3-4 in Los Angeles that included sampling and free apparel to personalize.
- About Field Reports
P2PI editors and staff regularly look for interesting and relevant digital and in-store marketing, monitoring the merchandising and marketing activity at various leading retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Our exclusive field reports highlight what's new and notable for commerce marketers.
