The NPD was created to offer “alternative culinary experiences” to consumers, as holiday season is just around the corner, according to the chocolatier’s VP of merchandizing, Janet Prisk
What does the collection include?
The Apron & Spoon collection includes hot chocolate spoon made with milk chocolate, hot chocolate spoon made with milk chocolate and mini marshmallows (both retail for $3.95), and vanilla bean marshmallows (retail for $9.95).
In addition, Fannie May also offers a five-ounce chocolate mug that contains assorted candy products. It retails for $14.95
For Christmas this year, the collection will also include sugar cookie mix with chocolate drizzle, called Cookies for Santa. Its retail price has not yet been disclosed.
“Our seasonal baking kits marry the traditions of the season with the flavors our customers have to come to expect from Fannie May,” Prisk said. “The recipes were developed and tested to ensure that there is a correlation between the home experience, and the expertise that comes from our kitchens.”
‘At-home cooking experiences’
Prisk pointed out that launching Apron & Spoon is a reflection of the rise in convenient dishes and products that provide consumers with “at-home cooking experiences.”
Fannie May’s business move comes soon after Hershey’s recent partnership with Chef’d for various product launches, including chocolate chip cookies and no-bake toffee fudge bars. The partnership marks the first time a major US confectionery brand tapped the $2bn meal kit industry, this site previously reported.
A recent Packaged Facts’ report predicts the US meal kit industry is estimated to grow at 100% a year, and it is projected to be $35bn by 2025.
Fannie May rebranded the packaging for its premium Chicago-themed chocolate range at the beginning of this year, hoping to enter new distribution channels, including drug channels and C-stores.
The US premium chocolate category is projected to reach $28bn in the next a couple of years, Fannie May’s CEO Kevin Cohen told ConfectioneryNews at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this year.