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Taco Bell SOS Kit Rolls Out for College Finals Season

As finals season begins across college campuses nationwide, thousands of students find themselves without a Taco Bell restaurant within walking distance – leaving them in distress when study session cravings hit. Taco Bell at Home comes to the rescue with the new “Taco Bell SOS Kit,” designed to give students on these campuses the mouthwatering Taco Bell goodness they are craving, even without a restaurant nearby. The kit features the newest Taco Bell at Home essentials from Kraft Heinz for students to recreate fan-favorite menu items.

Each kit contains a wide variety of Taco Bell at Home products, including new Mild and Hot Flavored Crunchy Taco Shells, fan-favorite Mild, Hot, Fire and Diablo sauces, and Original and Fajita seasoning packets. Kits will be delivered straight to students’ doors, courtesy of Amazon, while supplies last. Just add a protein and/or veggies and enjoy delicious Taco Bell from the comfort of the dorm.

But it wouldn’t be dorm life if students weren’t eating in bed, and with over two million views, Taco Bell in bed seems to be the obvious choice. To give students the opportunity to enjoy their craveable Taco Bell at Home creations from the comfort of their beds while preventing spills, drips, and crumbs from staining their bedding, the kit also features a never-before-seen, exclusive spill- and stain-resistant TwinXL-sized bedsheet. Simply lay the sheet over the bedding, get comfortable, and dig in.

“The Kraft Heinz Company and Taco Bell created the Taco Bell at Home line to bring the beloved and signature sauces, shells, seasonings and more from the most popular Taco Bell menu items straight to your home,” said Megan Lang, director of brand communications for Taco Bell at Home. “Our goal is to give fans the opportunity to satisfy their Taco Bell cravings anywhere, anytime, even if there is not a restaurant location nearby – including the students who suffer from the misfortune of a Taco Bell-less campus as they prepare for final exams.”

Students across the country can purchase their own kit for $7.99 on TacoBellSOS.com and rest easy knowing their craving satisfaction is on the way. Those unable to get their hands on a kit can still enjoy delicious at-home creations by trying the full lineup of Taco Bell at Home products, available at major retailers nationwide.

“We have such an amazing fan base – their love and devotion to the brand is unmatched,” says Katie Taylor, senior director of U.S. brand marketing at Taco Bell. “We are thrilled that the SOS Kits and Taco Bell at Home will help bring some much-needed Taco Bell goodness to the students asking for new locations near their campuses.”

To learn more and flaunt your Taco Bell at Home finals season survival kit on social media, follow and tag @tacobell and @kraftheinzus on Instagram and @tacobell and @hereatkraftheinz on TikTok.

TACO BELL is a registered trademark owned and licensed by Taco Bell Corp.

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Safeway, YouTube’s MrBeast Team Up for ‘Survive in a Grocery Store’ Videos

Safeway, the leading banner operated by Albertsons Companies, has partnered with avid philanthropist and top digital creator MrBeast, AKA Jimmy Donaldson, on the latest challenge to hit the popular YouTube channel. Available to watch now, the “Survive in a Grocery Store” video shows MrBeast challenging a contestant to see how many days he can live inside a Safeway grocery store. Every day the man remains in the store, he wins $10,000, but there’s a catch. He must choose $10,000 worth of products to donate to local charities each day as well.

“Safeway has a longstanding history of giving back to the community, so when we learned of this incredibly fun and unique opportunity to partner with MrBeast and help our neighbors in need, we were thrilled,” said Jennifer Saenz, EVP and chief merchandising officer at Albertsons Cos. “Our collaboration with MrBeast furthers our mission to break the cycle of hunger as part of our Recipe for Change environmental, social and governance framework. We’re also introducing MrBeast’s fanbase to the extensive assortment of popular products they can find in their local Safeway store, including Feastables candy and cookies.”

Thanks to Safeway, MrBeast and brand sponsors, including Shopify, over $450,000 worth of groceries, electronics, paper goods and more were donated to local nonprofit organizations including Feeding America, You Need Help Outreach Ministries, Kinston Teens, Hope Restorations, The Salvation Army Greenville, Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County and Beast Philanthropy.

“Working with MrBeast and Safeway has been a great experience that we will never forget. The quantity of donations was amazing, and we are certain that it made history in our ministry. We appreciate every donation that was given,” said Carl Darden, CEO of You Need Help Outreach Ministries.

Safeway partnered with Copia, a technology company that connects food donations to local not-for-profits in need, to identify and manage donation opportunities from the store to local nonprofit organizations.

“Copia is honored to have connected the generous donations from the MrBeast challenge with local nonprofits including Kinston Teens and Beast Philanthropy and many others who tirelessly serve their local community,” said Kimberly Smith, CEO for Copia. “We applaud MrBeast for shining a spotlight on the very real issue of food insecurity in our country, and we are proud to partner with him and Albertsons Cos., a grocer committed to reducing hunger across the United States.”

Brand sponsors that helped stock the store for this exciting challenge included PepsiCo, Vita Coco, Campbell’s, Red Baron Pizza, Dude Wipes and Country Crock.

“PepsiCo is thrilled to partner with Albertsons Cos. as the exclusive direct-store-delivery beverage provider for MrBeast’s latest video,” said Shannon Bennett, vice president, retail sales, PepsiCo Beverages North America, West Division. “We proudly provided 20 pallets of assorted PepsiCo products that were donated to the local community, and we are excited for everyone to check out MrBeast’s newest challenge. We think fans will especially love the contestant’s creative use of the Starry lemon lime flavored soda 12-packs!”

To complete MrBeast’s latest idea and make sure it was a real experience for the contestant, Albertsons Companies and their Safeway team worked with MrBeast’s team on the cash registers, aisles, signage, placement and merchandising to make sure every aspect of the store was a true functional grocery store—including seasonal areas and specialty sections found only in and around special occasions.

The “Survive in a Grocery Store” video is live now on the MrBeast YouTube channel and has been translated into 14 languages across the globe.

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Williams Sonoma Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Peppermint Bark

Williams Sonoma, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer, has released the 25th Anniversary of The Original Peppermint Bark. After 20 rounds of recipe testing, in 1998, Williams Sonoma founder Chuck Williams and the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen team developed the signature recipe for The Original Peppermint Bark that sparked a food trend that is celebrated by chocolate enthusiasts around the world during the holiday season.

The signature recipe for Williams Sonoma’s iconic Peppermint Bark combines a custom blend of light and dark Guittard chocolate layered with triple-distilled peppermint oil, to create a seasonal confection that is often replicated, but never matched in quality or flavor to the Williams Sonoma standard.

Those who eagerly await the annual arrival of the candy contribute to the consumption of over one million pounds of Guittard chocolate and 65,000 pounds of peppermint candy pieces. From start to finish, each batch of Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark takes more than 24 hours to make, and it takes Williams Sonoma’s chocolatiers over 12 weeks to produce enough Peppermint Bark to satiate the demand from customers.

The popularity of Peppermint Bark has prompted Williams Sonoma to also carry 35 different flavored products this year ranging from pretzels and cookies to an Espresso Martini Mix.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary , Williams Sonoma, together with Visa, has launched “A Chance To Win With Every Tin” campaign. There are over 1,500 gift cards hidden inside select tins with one tin containing a grand prize of a $1,000 Williams Sonoma gift card.

“We are proud to be the originators of the Peppermint Bark trend having developed a flavor profile that has become as synonymous with the holidays as pumpkin spice is to Fall,” said Williams Sonoma President Felix Carbullido. “For 25 years, our customers have celebrated the start of the holiday season with our signature Peppermint Bark, and we are excited to offer a commemorative tin this year in recognition of this anniversary.”

The complete collection is now available at all Williams Sonoma stores and on the Williams Sonoma website.

For more information on the collection, please visit:
www.williams-sonoma.com/peppermintbark.

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