In the cutthroat world of candy, Bazooka Brands is turning to an unorthodox strategy to help it stand out in the $48 billion confectionery category: encouraging consumers to play with their food.
For much of its history, Bazooka Brands operated in the shadow of trading card behemoth Topps. The collectible arm was sold in 2022, leaving behind the gum wrapped in a comic as well as four other brands such as Ring Pop and Push Pop.
Despite the small portfolio, Bazooka Brands has spent big on innovating its offerings to have new and novel concepts that connect with consumers.
“[Our] company is all about edible entertainment," Becky Silberfarb, vice president of marketing at Bazooka Brands, said in an interview. “Everything that we do is under that lens, how do we make our company different?"
Bazooka's latest planned launches include Juicy Drop Gummy Mystery Cube, a large gummy candy that consumers have to peel apart to discover the gelatinous land or sea creature embedded inside. Each Mystery Cube, expected to reach shelves later this year, has two different textures and flavors that appeal to consumer demands for these attributes.
“There’s an entertainment factor,” Silberfarb said. “You’re not just eating the candy. It’s like, what will I get? Finding that, hunting for that and playing with it in some way.”
The company also plans to debut a Juicy Drop MashUps next May, which allows consumers to mix sour crunchy candies inside a chewy, sweet sheet. Consumers, who can choose from two intensities of sour pieces, are encouraged to fold them inside the accompanying sheets, forming the shape of foods like a taco or pizza.
Playing with different textures has been a major innovation theme across Bazooka's brands. Ring Pop also debuted a major innovation this year with a solid milk chocolate version with crunchy pieces inside, marking the company’s first foray into the chocolate space.
Despite having the well-known gum brand in its name, Bazooka, once the company’s top-selling product, is now the smallest of its five brands. And in a company that encourages people to tinker with their food, ironically it’s the least playful, Silberfarb said. Its playful side comes from the collectibility of the comics inside -– offering its own unique form of edible entertainment.
Executives chose to keep Bazooka in the company’s name due to its notable brand equity. Ring Pops is currently the best-selling brand, with sales expected to hit a record of more than $100 million this year.
Still, Bazooka Brands hasn’t lost sight of its nearly 80-year-old namesake offering. The company recently brought back its grape flavor for a limited time. Bazooka also is testing out a cube-shaped version of the gum, and it is exploring ways to do more in the sugar-free space.
“It’s a tough environment to compete for that share of stomach,” Silberfarb said.
