If that first cup of coffee is the magical elixir that gets you out of bed in the morning, Nestlé USA is hoping you’ll be even more excited to pour yourself a brew with the launch of their two new candy-inspired coffee add-ons: Coffee mate Snickers and Dove Dark Chocolate Almond creamers.
It’s a launch that’s in keeping with one of the year’s top trends, “Discovery: The Adventurous Consumer,” which sees consumers moving out of their comfort zones in search of new products that combine bold flavors with an element of the unexpected.
According to the January 15th press release announcing the launch of the new liquid creamers, the Snickers flavor offers “notes of peanut and caramel” and “pays homage to one of America’s favorite chocolate bars,” while the Dove Dark Chocolate Almond flavor promises “the silky smooth sweetness of dark chocolate creamer combined with the delicious taste of almond.” Both flavors are lactose free, dairy free, gluten free, and cholesterol free, and are available now in US grocery stores in the refrigerated aisle. The MSRP is $3.59 per 32oz bottle.
The press release announcing the launch highlights the unexpected element that consumers are seeking, noting that this “new, buzzworthy way” to prepare coffee will “make morning coffee anything but the mundane.” The company’s website also uses language designed to convey a sense of exhilaration, describing the Dove Almond creamer as “the perfect flavor to wake up your cup.”
Another way to emphasize the novel aspects of this launch is to draw attention to the use of the Snickers and Dove brands—after all, a Snickers coffee creamer is a little more unique and unexpected than a creamer that advertises itself as tasting like “nougat, caramel, peanuts, and milk chocolate,” the Snickers’ flavors.
The instantly recognizable Snickers and Dove logos feature prominently on the packaging, and the Coffee mate Instagram account also tags the Mars-owned Snickers and Dove accounts in their posts—the photo on the right is captioned “Coffee mate + @snickers = coffee’s new BFF 😋☕️.”
Consumer reaction to the new creamers has been mixed. Jason Merideth, Marketing Director for Coffee mate, notes that “we’ve been thrilled to see rave reviews and excitement for these new flavors.” However, Nestlé USA’s own website features pretty mixed feedback.
The Dove Dark Chocolate Almond creamer receives an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 and garners feedback like “this one’s delicious” and “this is currently my favorite,” while the Snickers creamer only shows an average rating of two out of five.
Customer comments include “tastes like something burnt,” “too weird tasting,” and “I was hoping it would taste like a Snickers, and it did not.” Nestlé responds earnestly to each comment, writing something like, “We’re so sorry to learn that you did not enjoy it and we’d like to get some more information about this. Please keep an eye out for an email from us!” (The company is to be commended for allowing honest reviews on their website—it’s not always the case.)
Happily for Nestlé, online reviewers seem excited about the possibility of introducing chocolate bars to their morning brew. Delish claims to be “jittery with excitement” about the new launch, while POPSUGAR insists that these creamers will “save you countless coffee-shop trips” and allow you to say goodbye to “overpriced caramel lattes and long lines.” A Bustle writer sampled the new creamers and declared that “they definitely serve some chocolate realness. Even just a splash of it is transformative in coffee.” It will be interesting to see whether consumers in search of a caffeinated adventure will display the same excitement regarding a cup of candy-flavored coffee.
All Innova Market Insights material is copyrighted. The terms of use for this resource are contained in our standard Terms and Conditions.
