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**When Candy Stops Chasing Flavors and Starts Chasing Moments**

2h ago · 4 sources · launch

Confectionery innovation is having an identity shift. According to Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt, the action is moving away from new flavors and toward experience-led formats and moments.

Look at KitKat. Nestlé teamed up with Formula 1 to create “chocolate cars,” turning a candy bar into a pop culture collectible. Ferrero Group is weaving global sporting events like the FIFA World Cup into its marketing strategy. The play is bigger than taste. It is about tapping into fandom.

Snacks are following the same script. PepsiCo opened a limited-time Lay’s restaurant in Shanghai, built as an immersive brand experience and test-and-learn platform. The focus is consumer engagement and insight, not immediate sales. The concept pulls in a Michelin-starred chef, chef Tian Shuai and fashion label 8ON8 to create a multi-sensory brand world.

Even produce is getting theatrical. Sun World’s 2025 AUTUMNCRISP grape launch in Denmark generated more than 1.5 million social media impressions and drove a 90% sales increase during the launch window. The campaign lifted the broader table grape category by 25%.

Why it matters: brands are no longer just shipping products. They are staging moments. The contrarian take? Experience is becoming the new flavor. When done right, it does not just sell one SKU. It lifts the whole category.

Key facts

  • Confectionery innovation is shifting from new flavours to experience-led formats and moments, according to Sally Lyons Wyatt of Circana.
  • Nestlé’s KitKat collaborated with Formula 1 to create "chocolate cars" as part of an experience-led innovation push.
  • Ferrero Group is incorporating global sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, into its marketing strategy.
  • PepsiCo opened a limited-time Lay’s restaurant in Shanghai designed as an immersive brand experience and test-and-learn platform.
  • PepsiCo’s Shanghai Lay’s restaurant focuses on consumer engagement and insight rather than immediate sales.
  • The Lay’s Shanghai concept includes collaborations with Michelin-starred chef Francesco Bonvini, chef Tian Shuai and fashion label 8ON8 to create a multi-sensory brand experience.
  • Sun World’s 2025 AUTUMNCRISP grape launch in Denmark generated more than 1.5 million social media impressions and drove a 90% sales increase during the launch window.
  • The AUTUMNCRISP campaign lifted the broader table grape category by 25% during the launch period.
  • 1.5 million
  • 90%
  • 25%

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