Awake Chocolate offers "Turn Up" service

Awake Chocolate is partnering with Walker Hotels—luxury, design-driven properties across NYC—to launch Turn Up Service to celebrate the national launch of its Crispy Milk Chocolate Bites. The brand is offering guests at both locations (Walker Hotel Greenwich Village and Walker Hotel Tribeca) an exclusive, opt-in morning energy ritual through June 30. Instead of chocolate at night, guests can request to wake up to a morning “Turn Up Service” cart delivery featuring Awake Crispy Bites, with 50 mg of caffeine per Bite, alongside coffee, fresh fruit and other light bites, plus an energizing music and lighting shift to start the day right.

Gov Ball gets a flavor remix from Welch's Fusions

Courtesy of Welch's Fruit Snacks

Welch’s Fruit Snacks is bringing its new Fusions line to Gov Ball, June 5–7. According to Luminate’s 2024 consumer research, Gen Z officially surpassed Millennials as the highest-spending generation on live music. As Fusions is remixing flavor combinations with a Gen Z palate in mind, it made perfect sense to activate these launches through music, the brand says. Pre-festival, it aligned themselves with Gen Z and music culture through creator partnerships with AriAtHome (improv remix fusing genres on the streets of NY), Terry and Kaniyia (Fusions live reactions in the style they review songs), ThatsRockyy (festival outfit inspo), AriElkins (“If you like this flavor… you’ll love this genre") and more. At Gov Ball, the brand is turning that into a colorful and immersive on-the-ground footprint: the "Ultimate Remix Experience," which includes sampling across all three Fusions varieties, a "Find Your Fusions Vibe" quiz, live voiting on potential future flavors, and interactive moments designed for social sharing.

Dole launches 125th Pineapple Anniversary

Courtesy of Dole

Dole Food Company is pulling out all the stops in June for its 125th Pineapple Crowning Anniversary leading up to International Pineapple Day on June 27. The produce leader is launching “Dole Positively Rocks Charlotte,” a grassroots initiative that challenges Charlotte, NC residents to participate in a two-month Sweet Surprise Pineapple Hunt throughout Dole's Uptown Charlotte HQ neighborhood to find free food, gifts, commemorative merchandise and (of course) Dole Pineapples. The company has partnered with local Charlotte businesses to help it hide 100s of painted Pineapple Positivity Rocks and then reward customers and local residents for finding them. Also, consumers can participate in blood drives (donors in some cities receive a free Dole Pineapple) plus have access to free Dole-branded Pineapple Gift Tags, phone wallpaper, a Royal Tea Party Menu, and DIY Chef’s Hat and Royal Certificate.

A Snickers for everyone ... even people named Reese

Courtesy of Snickers

To promote Mars' Snickers Peanut Butter and add its voice to the "creamy vs. crunchy" dilemma, the brand launched a campaign featuring a focus group of totally unbiased taste-testers ... who all happen to be named Reese. Directed by comedian Eric André, the new creative captures the unfiltered reactions of the "Reeses" as they experience the multi-layered Snickers Peanut Butter and Snickers Peanut Butter Ice Cream for the first time. Spoiler alert: they are officially loving Snickers, the brand says. To drive cultural traction and consumer participation, the campaign includes a digital activation inviting anyone in America named Reese (including any spelling variation) to publicly declare their loyalty to Snickers Peanut Butter for a chance to win a year's supply.

Vosges creates twist on banana bread

Courtesy of Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Banana bread is reportedly having a major moment this season, with elevated takes popping up everywhere from banana bread lattes to brown butter variations. Vosges Haut-Chocolat has created its own twist on the classic recipe, featuring its Banana Coconut Super Dark Chocolate Bar, which adds ribbons of molten dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and caramelized banana. As summer gets underway, this recipe is suitable for everything from picnic spreads to lake days and weekend hosting, Vosges says. See the full recipe here.