Snack Chat July 2025

Hey Snackology readers, welcome to the July 2025 edition of Snack Chat. It’s not often that there’s breaking snack news right before I send an edition of this newsletter, but it happened on Tuesday evening.

Reese’s and Oreo are teaming up. We’re gonna get Reese’s in our Oreos. And Oreo in our Reese’s. (Pretty much what Coca-Cola and Oreo did last year when you could get Oreo Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Oreo cookies.) I’m pretty excited for this collab and can’t wait to track these snacks down and share my thoughts with you all.

Cookies and candy

• The New ‘Perfect Combination’: The Reese’s Oreo Cup? The Oreo Reese’s Cookie? (Jesse Newman, The Wall Street Journal): “‘Consumers have been beating this drum for a very long time,’ said Stacy Taffet, Hershey’s chief growth officer, in an interview. Inspiration also came from consumers’ own posts of their DIY combinations, such as a Reese’s peanut butter cup sandwiched between two Oreo wafers, the company said.”
  • Reese’s Oreo Cups and Oreo Reese’s Cookies are set to debut this September, with preorders (yes, you can preorder candy and cookies in 2025) set for Aug. 18. The Reese’s Oreo Cups will be available regular size, king size and miniatures and be “half milk chocolate, half white chocolate and filled with OREO cookie crumbs.” The Oreo Reese’s Cookies will feature “Reese’s peanut butter cream that [has] OREO cookies blended right in.” (Snackolator)
• Chips Ahoy! Enters the Upside Down for the Most Anticipated Netflix Release Yet: Stranger Things 5! (PR Newswire): “The Chips Ahoy! x Stranger Things Limited-Edition Cookie is inspired by the Upside Down, a dark alternate dimension that has played a key role throughout every season of Stranger Things. The cookies feature a new Chips Ahoy! chocolatey base, fudge chips and a red strawberry-flavored filling. The brand’s first-ever fruit-flavored filling peeks through the chocolatey cookie to represent the Rifts that are the entrance to the Upside Down.”
• New Halloween Kit Kats Are Out Already — and You Can “Count” Us in! (Sanah Munjal, Sporked): “By all accounts, the Kit Kat Counts are the same classic treat: crisp wafers coated in milk chocolate. It’s your standard Kit Kat, just shaped like a Count (aka a Dracula aka a vampire).”

Cereal

• Monsters Cereal Characters Brought to Life as Hilarious Puppets as General Mills Partners with the Legendary Jim Henson Company (General Mills): “‘For 70 years, The Jim Henson Company has brought some of the world’s most memorable and adored characters to life and our incredible team at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop especially enjoyed realizing these beloved Monsters as puppets for the first time ever,’ said Nicole Goldman, Executive Vice President of Branding for The Jim Henson Company. ‘This irreverent and funny take on these well-known characters will make this Halloween especially memorable for the amazing and loyal fans of both Monsters Cereals and The Jim Henson Company.’”
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Hormel Black Label Bacon Bring the Cinnamon Sizzle to Breakfast with New Limited-Edition Cereal (General Mills): “Following last year’s buzzworthy debut of the Hormel Black Label Cinnamon Toast Crunch Flavored Thick Cut Bacon, currently available at select retailers nationwide, this sizzling sequel is flipping the script at the breakfast table. Infused with the smoky flavor of Black Label Bacon and blasted with Cinnadust, this limited-edition cereal delivers savory satisfaction with every crunchy bite, making it perfect for breakfast or snacking.”
  • I tried my best to snag a bag of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Hormel Black Label Bacon Flavored Cereal, but I was never able to catch it in stock on Walmart’s website.

Fast food

• Popeyes Officially Dips Into The Party with Their First-Ever Signature Sauce Designed to Enhance the Dipping Experience (PR Newswire): “Unlike any other sauce on their menu, this creamy, craveable and unique sauce is one of a kind and undeniably Popeyes. Inspired by the brand's New Orleans roots, the new Signature Sauce combines the bold flavors of the Louisiana "holy trinity"; bell pepper, celery, and onion, along with garlic and a dash of hot sauce for just the right amount of heat. The Signature Sauce comes in a newly designed round cup, allowing guests to easily dip in and savor Every. Last. Drop.”
  • 🍪 Snackology Review: Let’s take Popeyes Signature Sauce and Chicken Dippers for a dip: “My one complaint about Popeyes Signature Sauce: That cup. It’s not big enough. I found myself taking super conservative dunks when it came to my Chicken Dippers. I wanted more. More!”
• Blueberry & Crème Pie returns to McDonald’s menu for the summer (Mike Snider, USA Today): “The Blueberry & Crème Pie became available at restaurants on Friday, June 27, and will be available nationwide through most of the summer (expected departure date is Sept. 1). The dessert, described as ‘a twist on the classic McDonald’s sleeved pie,’ according to the fast food chain’s online menu spotter, is made with blueberries and vanilla crème and is served warm.”
• Your New Summer Obsession: Taco Bell’s All-New Sweet Chipotle BBQ Sauce Takes Its Signature Crispy Chicken To The Next Level (Taco Bell): “Inspired by the flavors that drive summer cravings: think backyard BBQ meets fier yy heat. Whether it’s drizzled inside a Crispy Chicken Taco or Burrito, paired with Strips or atop crispy Nacho Fries, this sauce is set to become a summer obsession.”
• The Fans Have Spoken: Jack in the Box Partners with Coca-Cola to Bring Limited Edition Starlight Drink Back to Earth (Jack in the Box): “Jack in the Box Inc. is answering the call of fans by exclusively bringing back Coca-Cola Starlight – the space-inspired beverage that took the universe by storm in 2022. The space-flavored beverage will be available exclusively at Jack in the Box as part of the limited-time Coca-Cola® Starlight Munchie Meal, marking the first time this highly sought-after beverage has been available anywhere on the planet since its initial launch.”

Soda

• Mountain Dew and Buffalo Wild Wings Have an Exclusive New Drink — and It’s So Unhinged (Bailey Fink, Allrecipes): “In hindsight, I’m not sure why an unhinged launch from a brand whose mascot is a talking buffalo with wings had me baffled — but after picking my jaw up off the ground, I had to learn more about the radler.”
• Coca-Cola confirms a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola is coming to the US (Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press): “Quincey noted that Coke uses cane sugar in some other U.S. drinks, like its Simply brand lemonade and Honest Tea. Coke has also sold Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, in the U.S. since 2005.”
• Pepsi to introduce prebiotic cola this fall after buying Poppi (Mary Cunningham, CBS News): “‘Pepsi Prebiotic Cola represents the next leap forward in giving consumers choice, optionality and functional ingredients in their cola experience, without sacrificing the iconic Pepsi taste we're known for delivering,’ Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., said in a statement.”
• The Wild New OLIPOP Flavor Screams Summer Nostalgia — But Fans Have Mixed Reviews (Lauren Murphy, Parade): “The new OLIPOP x SpongeBob collab flavor is called Pineapple Paradise, created to promote the new SpongeBob movie coming to theaters later this year. Spotted at Publix and Walmart, this tropical-inspired soda is turning heads, stirring up a wave of nostalgia and sparking some spirited opinions among fans.”