Get Adobe Flash player

Brace Yourselves: Krispy Kreme Starts Pumpkin Spice Season Early

Pumpkin spice season is arriving earlier than ever at Krispy Kreme and there’s a latte more to love (literally), including a Latte Swirl Doughnut – a take on the beverage that started it all – and Iced Coffee.

Krispy Kreme is officially kicking off the season Aug. 8 – a month earlier than the brand did in 2021.

“Sure, pumpkin spice is generally associated with fall, but true fans of the flavor will agree that August is close enough! So, we’re pulling fall forward, enabling our guests to indulge and enjoy early with delicious pumpkin spice doughnuts and drinks, including our Pumpkin Spice Latte, which you can get iced or frozen, by the way,” said Dave Skena, global chief brand officer.

Krispy Kreme’s full pumpkin spice lineup is available beginning Aug. 8 at participating shops:

  • Latte Swirl Doughnut: Dipped in a pumpkin spice/sugar blend and topped with a swirl of vanilla and coffee buttercream.
  • Original Glazed Doughnut: A classic Original Glazed doughnut with a twist.
  • Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnut: Original Glazed doughnut with creamy cheesecake filing decorated with cheesecake icing.
  • Cake Doughnut: Old-fashioned cake doughnut covered in iconic glaze.
  • Latte: Available hot, iced or frozen.
  • Iced Coffee: Iced Coffee blend.

For updates on specialty food news, subscribe to Gourmet News.

Johnsonville Pitches Sausage-Packed Fun for SuperHole III

It’s SuperHole time – when untold numbers of cornhole fans schedule their lives around televised pro-am competitions. For the uninitiated, it’s up to SuperHole III now.

Johnsonville, the official sponsor of the American Cornhole League, has created a collection of limited-edition advertisement spots that will run in broadcast and digital, an impressive roster of air- mailing sausage ambassadors like Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Jennie Finch, a cornhole watch-party Pinterest board and hilarious sausage-centric swag.

There is no doubt that this year’s SuperHole event will be the must-see event of year,” said Jamie Schmelzer, senior director of strategic growth at Johnsonville. “Being a CPG brand, we’re fully aware that American consumers inescapably link the Big Game with great advertising, creative recipes, top entertainment, media moments and watch parties.”

Schmelzer said Johnsonville has a terrific partnership with the ACL and the first two years of its pro-am versions of cornhole competitions (SuperHole) have become so popular with more celebrities and athletes playing and fans engaging.

So, while the ACL produces their own version of the Big Game, we thought there should be some fun, sausage-y elements to enhance SuperHole weekend. The ACL team agreed, and we’ve had a blast putting this together. The fans should get a kick out of how we’ve spiced up the line-up to make it bigger and better than ever – from parodying some nostalgic ad spots to this crazy sausage-tunnel for all the players to run through – it’s going to be a lot of fun!”

With a laundry list of sizzling entertainment planned for the two live SuperHole broadcasts on ESPN2, Johnsonville and the ACL will leave viewers with just one question on the big day – “Why isn’t this a primetime broadcast all year!?”. Sausage fans will rejoice as “John. Son. Ville” makes its debut, the ACL creates their first-ever SuperHole ad and cornhole legends are born as athletes look to serve up and cement their sausage-tunnel runs in history and claim the first-ever WS Moore SuperHole Trophy, presented by Johnsonville.

The ACL SuperHole III will be broadcast live on ESPN2: The Ocho this Friday, August 5, with the quarterfinals airing from 4-5 p.m. ET and finals from 8-9 p.m. ET. First-time viewers and cornhole enthusiasts are encouraged to tune-in and serve up Johnsonville sausage in their watch- party spreads to celebrate what will be the biggest SuperHole event to date.

The complete line-up of Johnsonville experiences for SuperHole III includes:

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson will host his watch party live from his Instagram account, during ESPN’s “Ocho Day” on Aug. 5

Johnsonville parody spots:

o John. Son. Ville

o SausageQRCode

ACL’s first SuperHole ad

Sausage tunnel runs: Watch the 16 SuperHole and ACL players take the court in style

Rapper and entertainer Flavor Flav will emcee both SuperHole III broadcasts

The Johnsonville SuperHole Halftime Show will feature a live performance from singer-writer Ben Rector

Cornhole audience members will don one-of-a-kind HoleHead hats and Johnsonville grill hats

Presentation of the first-ever WS Moore SuperHole trophy to the SuperHole champions

The SuperHole Championship lineup includes:

Retired NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and Matt Guy

Retired NFL quarterback Jay Cutler and Jay Rubin

Actor Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Jacob Trzcienski

UFC competitor Chris Weidman and Jimmy McGuffin

University of S Carolina women’s head coach Dawn Staley and Mark Richards

Singer/Songwriter Ben Rector and Jimmy Youmans

Retired NFL running back Terry Kirby and Rosie Streker

ESPN Broadcaster Marty Smith and Ryan Smith

For more about sausages and other specialty food (but really not much about cornhole or SuperHole III), subscribe to Gourmet News.

Zevia Names DeBow Jr. Chief Commercial Officer

Zevia PBC has appointed Greig P. DeBow Jr. as chief commercial officer, effective today.

DeBow brings more than 25 years of experience in the beverage and consumer-packaged goods industries to Zevia’s management team, with a strong track record of leading commercial strategy to fuel revenue growth and profitability. He is responsible for driving market development in support of profitable growth for the Zevia brand through leadership across retail sales, eC\-commerce, business insights/category management and route-to-market and will report to Amy Taylor, president and CEO.

“Greig brings decades of deeply relevant experience, which is essential as we sharpen our go-to-market strategy, strengthen our business partnerships at retail and drive channel and geographic expansion,” Taylor said. “He is a well-respected industry leader and expert who is well-equipped to drive immediate impact and provide critical strategic input on our long-term growth plan. I look forward to partnering with Greig along with the rest of the leadership team as we continue to strengthen the brand, drive profitable growth and realize our mission centered around global health.”

Most recently, DeBow was the senior vice president of aales at Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, the number one meat snack provider worldwide, where he contributed to building a highly profitable category-leading brand. Prior to that, he served as vice president of sales & distribution at Danone North America, where he was responsible for the Convenience, Dollar, Discount, Drug, Export, and Distribution teams across four brand units with a $510 million revenue base.

DeBow also held a variety of roles at Pabst Brewing Company from 2015 to 2019 and gained commercial leadership experience at PepsiCo, Red Bull North America and Standard Beverage Corporation. He received his BBA in marketing and business from Texas A&M University.

For updates on the specialty food industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.