Hey Snackers,
Talk about being too attached to work: a Russian woman just married her briefcase.
Stocks hit fresh record highs yesterday as lawmakers got closer to passing stimulus round #2 — but they're still haggling over the deets. If they can't get it done by Friday night, we could have a government shutdown over the weekend.
The secret behind Oreo’s limited-edition flavor strategy
Like the CIA of processed sugar... The six-person team that comes up with limited-edition Oreo flavors has top secret security clearance (at its parent company, snack legend Mondelez International). The team is so secretive, that Mondelez refuses to even say what it's called.
- Their job: Flavor innovation. Since 2012, they've launched 65 Oreo flavors including: Jelly Donut, Waffle & Syrup, Crispy Tiramisu, Pina Colada, and in China... Hot Wings.
- Their mission: Excite love for the 108-year-old Oreo. A Wasabi Oreo might not be your go-to, but it's provocative – it gets the people going.
The proof is in the (double) stuffing... The not-so-secret goal of Oreo's secret flavor team: drive shoppers back to the plain old Oreo (aka: milk's favorite cookie). Niche flavors and tweet-worthy collabs are meant to help people rediscover the OG favorite. And the strategy seems to be working:
- Sales of specialty Oreos have jumped more than 12% over the last three years. During that same time, sales of classic Oreos soared over 22%.
- ~15% to 20% of Oreo sales came from shoppers who were new to the brand, according to estimates from Mondelez's CEO.
It's the LVH effect... The Limited Viral Hook. When Mondelez launched limited-time only Supreme Oreos, Supreme fans bit (Supreme logo = automatically cool). Next up: salmon-colored, green-stuffed Oreos in honor of Lady Gaga's new album. Oreo uses brands, people, and flavors to generate buzz and expand its appeal beyond the usual customers — then it hooks you with the OG profit puppies. Dunkin' and Starbucks also use the LVH strategy with their color-changing seasonal drink monstrosities, while Crocs does it with J. Bieber clogs.
Amazon's new "Amazon Location" could unravel the Google Maps monopoly
Darth Bezos strikes again... Global domination has taken a very literal turn: maps. Amazon's omnipresent cloud service, AWS, just launched "Amazon Location" (unfortunately, not a real-time package tracker). This mapping service lets developers add location-based features to their apps.
From the North Pole to the South... The supreme ruler of mapping is... Google Maps. Maps has 1B+ users, and is also used by a ton of map-reliant apps like Uber and DoorDash. Without Google, Uber can't direct drivers, and DoorDash can't stop you from asking "where is my ramen." From 2016 to 2018, Uber paid Google $58M to use its Maps service. And...
- Uber signed a 4-year renewal deal with Maps in July because it's the only mapping solution "that can provide the global functionality we require."
- Amazon Location is not as all-encompassing as Maps, but the Zon is making up for it in the best way it knows how: lower prices.
AWS is Amazon's silent (but deadly) superpower... It's a "silent server" for a huuuge swath of the digital economy, powering the operations of millions of companies from Netflix, to Slack, and Shell. Last quarter it made up 12% of Amazon’s sales, bringing in a gnarly $11.6B — and it made up over half of Amazon's total profit. Since millions of large and small businesses use AWS to power their operations, Amazon has a major leg up when launching new (cheaper) services like Location.
What else we’re Snackin’
- TikMart: Walmart is bringing shoppable livestreams to TikTok for the first time on Friday.
- Floofy: Subscription dog-supplies startup BarkBox is going public by merging with a SPAC in a $1.6B deal.
- Newsy: Facebook takes out full-page ads in the WSJ, the NYT, and the Washington Post to criticize Apple's privacy changes (subtle).
- Cut: Coca-Cola will cut ~2.2K jobs worldwide as part of its workforce restructuring plan.
- Rocket: NASA makes Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin eligible to launch future missions without crews.
🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up here.
Friday
- Earnings expected from Darden Restaurants
Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Amazon, Walmart, and Starbucks
ID: 1454306