Snack Chat June 2025

Hello, Snackology crew. Welcome to Snack Chat for June 2025.

I don’t really follow college football. But you know what absolutely does have my attention every year now? The Pop-Tarts Bowl and its increasingly bizarre storyline featuring Pop-Tarts mascots that are sacrificed, devoured by the winning college team and then rise again the following season. This is the only bowl game that matters.

So you know then that I was psyched to see those big dead-eyed Pop-Tarts mascots pop up again for a new cross promotion with the Frosted Blue Raspberry Pop-Tarts that are coming back for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

If we’re going to further explore the multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, I need to see a universe where all the people have been replaced with Pop-Tarts mascots.

Fantastic collabs

• Pop-Tarts Teams Up With Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps to Bring Back Fan-Favorite Frosted Blue Raspberry Flavor After Six-Year Hiatus (PR Presswire): “Fan-favorite Pop-Tarts Frosted Blue Raspberry is returning to the pastry universe — exclusively at Walmart — after a six-year hiatus. Filled with a deliciously gooey blue raspberry-flavored center, these cosmic power-inspired pastries strike the perfect balance of tangy, fruity and sweet. Each pastry features one of eight unique frosting designs inspired by the iconic Super Hero team, their powers, and more. The printed pastries will also be available in specially marked boxes of Pop-Tarts Frosted Strawberry at grocery retailers nationwide.”

• EA Sports adds Pop-Tart Bowl Mascot among 35 new mascot additions to College Football 26 (Grant Grubbs, On3): “EA Sports is doing all it can to make fans feel seen in College Football 26. On Monday, EA Sports announced that it will be including a wide slate of numerous new mascots in this year’s installment of the game, including fan favorites like Arkansas‘ Big Red, Duke‘s Blue Devil and even the Pop-Tart from the Pop-Tarts Bowl.”
• Little Caesars Teams Up With Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps (PR Presswire): “‘This is a big moment for our brand,’ said Greg Hamilton, Chief Marketing Officer at Little Caesars. ‘We’re thrilled to work with Marvel Studios to bring the excitement of The Fantastic Four: First Steps into our stores and into homes across the country. It’s a delicious, craveable, and family-friendly way to celebrate the heroes that bring us together.’”
  • 📖 I Am Eating Little Caesars’ Four-Flavor Fantastic Four Pizza (Matt Singer, ScreenCrush): “That said, these four static options would not necessarily be the ones I would pick for a pie inspired by The Fantastic Four: First Steps. I’m not even certain which team member goes with which slice. Obviously the spicy slice with pepperoni and jalapeño belongs to the fiery Human Torch. No problems there. And I think the classic cheese is meant to represent the Invisible Woman — as in the toppings are not visible on that one.”

Fast food

• Snack Wrap Returns to McDonald’s US Restaurants on July 10 (PR Presswire): “The following statement was released today by Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, in response to questions about the return of the iconic Snack Wrap to menus: ‘It’s back.’”
  • Snack Wrap unwrapped: Here’s why McDonald’s is bringing back a fan favorite on July 10 (Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press): “McDonald’s invented the Snack Wrap — a tortilla full of chicken, lettuce, shredded cheese and sauce — almost two decades ago to make it easier to eat its chicken on the go. But it was too complicated for its kitchens to prepare, so the burger giant abandoned the Snack Wrap in the U.S. in 2016.”
• McDonald’s New McFlurry is Inspired by a Classic Summertime Treat (Joseph Lamour, People): “McDonald’s just announced the addition of the Hershey’s S’mores McFlurry to its dessert offerings, including the Oreo and M&M’s McFlurries. It will be available starting June 10 at participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide for a limited time.”
  • 🍪 Snackology Review: I’m gonna go back for s’more of McDonald’s Hershey’s S’mores McFlurry: “Oh boy, this is a good one. My hopes were high when I saw that a S’mores McFlurry was coming out this summer. It’s kind of a no-brainer when it comes to a dessert like this one. S’mores ice cream has been a thing for years now (I remember joking with my friends that Friendly’s needed to come out with that flavor back when we’d hang out there in high school), and McDonald’s got this one right.”
• 📖 Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s End Partnership (Connor Hurt, The Wall Street Journal): “Last month, however, the company said it was reassessing the partnership’s deployment schedule while it worked to achieve a profitable business model for both parties. The disclosure came as Krispy Kreme withdrew its outlook for the year and said it would stop paying a quarterly dividend, exercising a more cautious approach amid an uncertain economic climate.”
• Popeyes’ New Menu Item Makes Its Iconic Fried Chicken Easy To Eat On The Go (Jonathan Kesh, The Takeout): “It's worth noting that the Popeyes Chicken Wrap isn't a permanent menu addition, with the New Orleans-founded fried chicken chain treating the wraps as a distinctly summer-themed food. The wraps will be sold at participating stores across the nation until supplies last, which means you should be able to hit up most Popeyes restaurants (except in Vermont and Wyoming, the only states without any Popeyes) until the wraps run out.
  • 🍪 Snackology Review: Popeyes gets wrapped up in the Chicken Wrap battle: “OK, here’s the Classic Chicken Sandwich but in wrap form. Everything’s working here. The tenders are always great, covered in the breading that we’ve all come to know and love at Popeyes. While I can’t back the idea that the tortilla follows in the lineage of the chain’s biscuits, it’s a good tortilla. No complaints there.”
• Chicken Gets the Taco Bell Treatment With All-New Crispy Chicken Tacos and Burritos (PR Presswire): “‘Crispy chicken is having a moment, but our fans made it a movement,’ said Taylor Montgomery, Chief Marketing Officer at Taco Bell. ‘So, we decided to bring our sell-out Nuggets recipe to the formats that defined our brand because true innovation means elevating the icons, not replacing them. We’re not like every other chicken spot out there, we’re doing crispy chicken the only way we know how: full of flavor and unmistakably Taco Bell.’”
  • 🍪 Snackology Review: Strips! Tacos! Burritos! Taco Bell goes all in on Crispy Chicken: “When you go to Taco Bell these days, you basically have two very different menus. There’s the classic menu — the beef tacos, burritos, chalupas, Crunchwrap Supremes. And then there’s this new crispy chicken-based menu where everything exists on a different level. The toppings feel like they’re a higher quality. The base of the tacos and burritos are heftier. You have fun dipping sauces.”
• 📖 The Quest for Crunchwrap Supremacy (Matthew Sedacca, Grub Street): “‘I really didn’t want to do a Taco Bell thing,’ he says. ‘I’m trying to make this food that’s very precious to me and who I am.’ Cleghorn, a self-described people pleaser, managed to ignore and delete the pleading messages for eight months before finally caving. ‘I was like, You know what, fuck it — give the people what they want.’”
• Wendy’s and Takis Turn Up the Heat with a Flavor-Packed Collaboration (Wendy’s): “Wendy’s is giving fans a whole new take on Takis, combining Wendy’s perfectly seasoned Spicy Chicken filet topped with crushed Takis Fuego chips, Chili Lime Sauce, creamy corn spread and a cheddar cheese sauce to create a one-of-a-kind sandwich that is equal parts spicy, crunchy and savory. The Takis takeover doesn't stop there! Fans can shake up their meal with Wendy’s new Fuego Fries, inspired by Takis, taking Wendy’s classic Hot & Crispy Fries and tossing them in a tangy chili lime seasoning served in a custom-made tear away bag to allow easier access to the fries, perfect for sharing ... or not.”
• Chipotle Turns Up the Heat With Adobo Ranch, the Brand’s First New Dip in Five Years (Chipotle): “‘Ranch has become a cultural phenomenon, especially among Gen Z, who are finding creative ways to enjoy it beyond the traditional salad,’ said Chris Brandt, President and Chief Brand Officer. ‘Our new Adobo Ranch taps into this passion, giving fans a craveworthy way to customize their Chipotle order with a completely new flavor.’”

Candy

• Snickers Drafts Josh Allen to Satisfy Halftime Hunger, One Bite at a Time (PR Presswire): “‘I’ve always been a fan of Snickers, so putting my name — and my game — on these packs is a win,’ said Josh Allen. ‘Whether you're taking the field or taking your fantasy line-up to victory, Snickers has your back when hunger strikes.’”
• Twix Just Dropped a Snickerdoodle Candy Bar — and It’s All Kinds of Cozy (Stephanie Gravalese, Food & Wine): “Just in time for summer snack runs and nostalgic cravings, Twix is introducing a new limited-edition bar that leans into the familiar flavors of cinnamon and sugar. Twix Snickerdoodle will roll out in July, blending the brand’s usual layers with a caramel twist inspired by the classic cookie.”

Other foods

• Molly Baz’s Ayoh Mayo Sauces Enter Whole Foods Market As Brand’s First National Retail Partner (Forbes): “That intention that the brand was founded on is working in real time. Baz has found that Ayoh! customers are not only using it in their homemade sandwiches, but they’re bringing their deli-bought sandwiches home so that they can specifically squeeze Ayoh! onto it. ‘For me,’ she says, ‘that’s the ultimate success story of Ayoh!’”
• Goldfish Made a Cracker That Screams ‘Extra Sauce’ — and We’re Not Mad About It (Nicolette Baker, Food & Wine): “The newest summertime flavor from Goldfish aims to capture the breezy tanginess of your favorite restaurant’s burger dressing. Awesome Sauce Flavored Crackers — a “sweet, smoky, and tangy” snack, in the brand’s words — is hitting store shelves this month. It’s available for a limited time only, and we’re pleased to share that it’s accompanied by a few other returning favorites.”
• 📰 Oreo maker Mondelez sues Aldi, alleging grocery chain copies its packaging to confuse customers (Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press): “In the lawsuit, Mondelez displayed side-by-side photos of multiple products. Aldi’s Thin Wheat crackers, for example, come in a gold box very similar to Mondelez’s Wheat Thins. Aldi’s chocolate sandwich cookies and Oreos both have blue packaging. The supermarket’s Golden Round crackers and Mondelez’s Ritz crackers are packaged in red boxes.”
• Cheez-It and Wendy’s Stack Up The Flavor With Limited-Edition Baconator Crackers (PR Presswire): “The mouthwatering mashup combines the signature crunch and taste of Cheez-It with the layers of flavor that make Wendy's Baconator a fan-favorite. Each bite delivers the 100% real cheese taste Cheez-It is known for, amplified with savory Applewood smoked bacon flavor — bringing the full burger experience to snack time, no drive-thru required.”
• Jonas Brothers Partner with Friendly’s Restaurants for Limited Edition Sundaes (Friendly’s): “‘We’ve been hooked on Friendly’s since we were little,’ said Kevin Jonas. ‘Friendly’s has always been a favorite stop of ours … a memorable place where we bonded as brothers over ice cream and delicious food. Fun fact: We decided on the band’s name at our local Friendly’s back in 2005, while chowing down on Monster Mash sundaes. So, we’re beyond excited to have this opportunity to relive our childhoods and create our own signature Friendly’s creations!’”