Marketing: Quinn Refreshes, Mike’s Hot Honey Drizzles

In recent marketing news, Quinn Snacks brings a new look to its pretzel packages, Mike’s Hot Honey drizzles into its first national advertising campaign, and Keith Urban crowns a new taco night icon for Old El Paso.

Quinn Unveils Packaging Redesign

Often it’s the little changes that can make a difference. Quinn Snacks is taking that approach with a packaging refresh that hopes to communicate with consumers “clearly, quickly, and with confidence,” said CEO Al Matulis in an email to Nosh.

Led by its new tagline “Get Your Fill” the brand has focused its brand refresh on “emotional resonance” with better-for-you snack consumers, said Marketing VP Beth Hunsicker Parker. “To achieve that, we streamlined the front for enhanced shoppability, introduced bold, vibrant colors to improve impact at shelf in a way that reflects our mission, and leaned into more robust storytelling around our founder story and mission on the back.”

The refresh has been about 18 months in the making and included redesigning the website to focus less on ingredient sourcing in exchange for the tasting experience.

Yet, the snack brand has not left behind its commitment to sourcing from sustainable farms because “our values are as core to the brand as the ingredients themselves,” Hunsicker Parker said.

Quinn has changed a lot since it was founded as a microwave popcorn brand 15 years ago by entrepreneur Kristy Lewis (who moved to a chief visionary role in 2022). It moved into heirloom grain pretzels in 2016 and then lined up strategic investment from the Lissette family office (the owners of Utz Quality Foods) and Hershey. In December 2023, the brand pivoted out of popcorn to focus on high-volume snacks like nut butter-filled pretzels as well as sticks and twists.

Mike’s Hot Honey’s First National Campaign

The kids these days call it “swicy,” but for 15-year-old brand Mike’s Hot Honey, mixing spicy and sweet is nothing new. But in order to lean into its cultural moment, the brand has launched its first national advertising push centered on “Drizzle the Mike’s.”

The campaign, which features two 30-second ads, was created by Another Thing and backed by a media plan from Noble People. The intent is to broaden the brand from its identity as a condiment and focus on Mike’s Hot Honey’s role as a “pop culture staple,” said Another Thing co-founder Nick Kaplan in a statement.

Mike’s Hot Honey is available in over 3,000 restaurants and more than 30,000 retail locations. Its ad campaign will air on digital and social platforms as well as in CTV and cinema “during peak food-sharing moments.”

Old El Paso’s New Cowboy Icon

Country music star Keith Urban might be from Australia’s down under, but he knows cowboy crooning better than most. This is why he was chosen by General Mills-owned Old El Paso to decide who would be the Tex-Mex food brand’s “Castin’ the Cowboy” web series.

The winner that Urban decided on was Elroy, who will be the new face of the brand’s taco shells, sauces and seasonings in various ad campaigns this fall.