May 15, 2013

PLANO, Texas, May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division today officially kicked off its national marketing efforts in support of Cracker Jack'D snacks - a product line-up bursting with flavor and designed to tackle hunger in between meals - which was unveiled earlier this year. To celebrate the Cracker Jack'D brand, actress Ashley Tisdale will host a unique sampling and meet-and-greet event today in New York City where consumers will have the opportunity to try the snacks and experience the brand first-hand.  The event will be held across from the iconic Flatiron Building on 23rd Street and 5th Avenue from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. EDT.  Consumers will have the chance to sample the brand's core product offering, including:

  • Hearty Mix: Tasty clusters mixed with nuts to give adult consumers a hearty, filling snack. Flavors include Cheddar BBQ, Zesty Queso, PB & Chocolate and Berry Yogurt.
  • Intense Mix: Delicious snack mixes that have big, intense flavor and pack a powerful crunch.  Flavors include: Buffalo Ranch and Spicy Pizzeria.
  • Sweet 'n Savory Clusters: A Salted Caramel flavor that features rich sweet and salty popcorn and almond piece clusters.

"The Cracker Jack'D flavors are amazing -- I was sold after the first bite," said Tisdale. "I'm excited to host this event and be part of everyone's first time trying Cracker Jack'D."

Cracker Jack'D was created to meet the demands of the on-the-go adult consumer featuring "snacks with impact" mixes ranging from tasty clusters mixed with nuts, to sweet and salty popcorn and almond piece clusters designed to provide satisfaction to consumers throughout the day.

"Today's male consumers are looking for intense tastes and more satisfying snack options that can easily fit into their busy lifestyles," said David Skena, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay. "Cracker Jack'D is unique because of the way it combines hard-working ingredients, different textures, flavors and innovative packaging in a way that works best for on-the-go consumers."

While the product line-up tips a hat to the iconic Cracker Jack brand that consumers have enjoyed for 120 years, Cracker Jack'D is a distinct, standalone brand not meant to replace the traditional Cracker Jack brand.  The new Cracker Jack'D line complements the traditional Cracker Jack brand by meeting the snacking needs of young men with a collection of intense flavors. 

As a part of its national marketing efforts, the brand also announced an exciting line-up of strategic partnerships designed to create engaging content and special events to share with consumers:

  • Cracker Jack'D has developed an integrated partnership with hip-hop artists Macklemore & Ryan Lewis that features co-created video content, a college tour, ticket giveaways and product sampling.
  • Custom automotive powerhouse West Coast Customs has designed and built an exclusive Cracker Jack'D vehicle that will be used for a 16-week summer sampling tour. The specially customized vehicle will be featured on an episode of the show "Inside West Coast Customs" and there will be a series of meet-and-greets with West Coast Customs founder Ryan Friedlinghaus, along with social media activations throughout the campaign.
  • Finally, the Cracker Jack'D brand has partnered with Poptent, the world's leading social video content company, to tap the minds of the web's most talented creative community of independent filmmakers to crowdsource branded content that will be used online and through the brand's social channels over the course of 2013.

Consumers can visit www.crackerjackd.com, www.twitter.com/CrackerJackD or www.facebook.com/CrackerJackDSnacks to learn more about upcoming events and to view unique content.

About Cracker Jack'D

Conveniently packaged in individual snack packets and available now at convenience stores nationwide, the Cracker Jack'D Hearty Mix, Intense Mix and Sweet 'n Savory Clusters snacks are available for a suggested retail price of $2.49. 

The Cracker Jack'D brand is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales.  Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world.  PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo.  We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate.  For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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