News Briefs

In the world of strange food collaborations, French’s is looking to pair the flavor of its iconic mustard with the classic Skittles candy.

Available for a limited time, the mustard-flavored Skittles can be obtained while supplies last via an online sweepstakes and at in-person pop-up events in Atlanta, Washington D.C. and New York City.

“From Mustard Ice Cream to last year’s viral Mustard Donuts, this year marks the fifth time French’s has gone all out with unique, flavorful innovations to celebrate National Mustard Day. With the yellow holiday landing on August 5, we knew we had to outdo ourselves,” said Valda Coryat, North America vice president of marketing for McCormick “We are thrilled to collaborate with Skittles to deliver our beloved Classic Yellow Mustard tang in a new, fun way to French’s and Skittles fans alike.”

The locations where the candy will be available are the Atlanta Ponce City Market on July 31, Washington D.C. City Center on Aug. 2 and New York City’s Hudson River Park on Aug. 5.

“Skittles is always looking to inspire moments of everyday happiness and deliver unexpected ways for fans to experience the brand,” said Ro Cheng, marketing director at Mars. “That’s why we've teamed up with French’s to create the first-of-its-kind Skittles that combines their tangy mustard flavor with our iconic chewy texture to deliver this unique summer treat for National Mustard Day.”

Honey Comb is joining forces with actor and former American football player Terry Crews on an initiative aimed at giving tweens the motivational boost needed to start their days.

Through an AR experience, users can jump from the new Honey Comb box into the virtual world through a QR code. In the experience, users will be able to access two activities and motivational videos from Crews encouraging viewers to Bee Big, Bee Kind and Bee Amazing, the company said.

In Honey Run, users will be able to access an immersive gaming experience where a hungry bear is guided through a challenging obstacle course. Players can collect honeycomb cereal pieces to earn bonus points and fuel up with drops of honey to keep the plane flying.

On the other hand, the Big Bee Motivations consists of videos that aim to inspire and motivate for the day ahead.

Ragu is expanding its line of pasta sauces with a brand-new collection—Kettle Cooked.

Made with ingredients like crushed tomato, basil, oregano and fresh garlic, the new sauces are slow-simmered in large kettles and come in marinara, roasted garlic and tomato basil varieties.

Consumers can find Ragu’s new Kettle Cooked sauce line in 24-oz. jars at select retailers across the nation, including Meijer and Kroger. In August, the line will expand its availability to additional retailers, including Target.

Precious Mineralz has announced the debut of its Out of Mountains skin care line, which consists of seven products. The brand touts the use of halloysite, a nanotubular clay famous for its tubular shape, to create products designed to enhance skin health naturally.

The company said this invisible ingredient contains anti-aging ingredients delivered to the skin’s cellular level with time-release properties. Unique to the industry, halloysite products are ethically and responsibly formulated (clean), sustainable, vegan, cruelty-free and in recyclable containers. 

Makeup Revolution is expanding its mascara offerings with a brand new, waterproof launch—5D Whip Lift Waterproof Mascara.

Made to leverage all the iconic features of the original formula with added waterproof benefits, it aims to offer long-wear and smudge-proof lashes, the company said. 

Powered with a unique twisted vortex-shaped brush crafted to coat even the shortest and straightest lashes, it grabs every lash from the root and directs each strand upwards for a lifted look. 

Featuring a vegan and cruelty-free formula, the 5D Whip Lift Waterproof Mascara is infused with castor and argan oils to nourish every lash and promote overall lash health, the company said. 

Consumers can find Makeup Revolution’s 5D Whip Lift Waterproof Mascara online for a suggested retail price of $10. 

Coty has entered into a binding letter of intent to sell a portion of its Wella stake to IGF Wealth Management.

The beauty company will sell a 3.6% stake in Wella for $150 million, which is subject to the completion of due diligence and reflects a 4% premium to the book value of the brand as of March 31, 2023.

Following the transaction, Coty will retain a 22.3% stake in Wella with an implied valuation of approximately $900 million.

“Today’s announcement is a milestone for Coty, as the partial monetization of our Wella stake reinforces the strength of our balance sheet, with no debt maturities in the next 2 years and our remaining Wella stake carrying an implied valuation of approximately $900 million,” said Laurent Mercier, chief financial officer of Coty. “The expected transaction is a concrete step in our commitment to both fully divest our retained Wella stake and reach leverage of approximately 2x by end of CY25. Coupling this deleveraging with a best-in-class medium term growth algorithm, an active capital return program, including $400 million in targeted future share buybacks, and the continued momentum in our business, it is clear that we are reinforcing Coty’s position as a beauty powerhouse.”