In a category as fast-paced as Savoury Snacking, amplifying the launch of an NPD sometimes means having to think outside the box. When PepsiCo told us that they planned to bring the proven Extra Flamin’ Hot launch to the UK in March, we knew the category was about to be set alight through the innovation – and our recent work with the Retailer Inner Cirkle did just that.  

The Extra Flamin’ Hot range is available across the nation’s much-loved Doritos, Walkers MAX and Wotsits Crunchy brands. To drive excitement in the convenience channel, we used our Retailer Inner Cirkle – a collective of influential convenience store owners –  to create an activation that had shoppers hot footing it to their local store for their first taste of the new flavour.  

Earlier this year, our retail trade team, the RIC and PepsiCo held an initial session to understand retailer feedback on the new range, putting collaboration at the forefront of all launch plans. The initial excitement was real, and our retailers had incredible ideas on how  they could amplify the launch to make it a success in their store. We equipped participating retailers across the nation with bespoke POS, displays, merch and stock to champion the range and drive footfall. The support from PepsiCo allowed our retailers to get creative, with some setting up tasting stations, doing merch giveaways and even putting up lights and smoke machines in-store.  

In just over two weeks, the activation has yielded incredible results from the RIC:  

• 60 pieces of organic social content  
• +60,000 total reach across social, targeting local shoppers and driving advocacy amongst other retailers 

The wider industry has also picked up on the strength of the activation: 

• IGD’s Bryan Roberts has published a column in RN praising PepsiCo’s, Cirkle’s and the RIC’s effort in championing the launch to the impulse channel 
• Convenience Store and Asian Trader have both written pieces including testimonials from the retailers who took part, highlighting how well the launch has been received and that product has been flying off shelves 
• Aman Uppal from One Stop Mount Nod’s activation will be featured in the IGD’s next shopper marketing report as a best-in-class example 

Nic Storey, Senior Impulse Sales Director at PepsiCo, has been delighted with the response, stating that “this is exactly how we pictured what the convenience retailers could do for PepsiCo in this space. Spot on!” 

The success of the Extra Flamin’ Hot launch is testament to the mutual rewards that can be reaped when retailers and brands collaborate to launch innovation into the impulse channel. 

For more information on how your brand can follow in these footsteps, please contact: amy.searle@cirkle.com