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Brand News
08 March
Mars pilots on-demand ice cream delivery – from a mobile store
The CPG is partnering with Conjure to launch a direct-to-consumer service in Hollywood.

Grabbing M&Ms ice cream sandwiches. (Courtesy photo)
If a new pilot between a CPG leader and a tech company proves to have wings, the Ice cream store will soon come to customers.
The news: Mars, Incorporated is partnering with Conjure to launch delivery of ice cream from on-demand mobile stores. Initially, the store-hailing service will roll out in Hollywood, California, this spring.
How it works:
Through one-tap ordering on a mobile app, customers can hail a mobile shop, which is a van stocked with ice cream. Available products will include ice cream pints such as M&Ms Chocolate, Snickers and Twix, as well as Snickers and Twix ice cream bars.
Shops arrive in as little as two minutes.
When the shop arrives, customers can pick out their order. The system is checkout-free, so customers simply walk away with ice cream in hand.
Key quote from Jerome Morgen, senior global director of Mars Unattended Retail: "Mars is continuously investing in driving innovation for the treats and snacks category through the unattended retail space, giving consumers more opportunity to shop our products with speed and convenience. This partnership with Conjure helps solve the industry's biggest issue – ice cream melting before reaching the home when purchased in store or through other delivery methods."
The new ice cream truck: This is the second notable partnership in a year for Conjure, which was formerly known as Robomart. It also signed on with Unilever to deliver products such as Ben & Jerry’s and Good Humor in another Southern California pilot. The company’s on-demand ordering system puts a new twist on the classic ice cream truck. Instead of music, an app can signal that a store is on its way. Under the hood, it's designed to solve a pair of challenges for brands and retailers. Conjure's service stands to increase efficiency in delivery, while also allowing customers to access ice cream quickly, when they want it.
"We are thrilled to partner with Mars to expand our offering to consumers through our on-demand mobile ice cream stores," said Ali Ahmed, CEO of Conjure, in a statement. "Mars' ice cream brands are the perfect addition to our platform, and we believe this partnership will be a game-changer in the ice cream industry."
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Marketing
17 March
Kellogg's takes inspiration from employees, Latin in snacks rebrand
Kellanova is now the parent of Pringles, Cheez-Its and Pop Tarts.
Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash
Kellogg Company's snacks business is now Kellanova. Here are a few finer points about how the forthcoming parent of Cheez-Its and and Pop-Tarts arrived at the new name.
Last year, Kellogg announced plans to split its business into multiple companies.
Now, one company will have North American cereals like Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Rice Krispies under the WK Kellogg Co banner.
Another will have snacks like Pringles, North American frozen foods such as Eggo and plant-based brands like MorningStar Farms.
This week, Kellogg announced that the snacks business has a new name: Kellanova.
Here are the strategies that Kellogg employed that led to this name:
- Ask the employees: Kellogg Company asked employees for input on the name, and received 4,000 suggestions from 1,000 employees.
- Listen to the results: 20% of the employees suggested a variation of the W.K. Kellogg name, while other employees suggested that the name include "nova."
- Go to the root: "Nova" comes from the Latin word for new. CEO Steve Cahillane said it "signals our ambition to continuously evolve as an innovative, next generation, global snacking powerhouse."
As The Wall Street Journal reports, this is just the latest new company name to take a Latin root in recent years, as Kellanova joins GE Vernova, Mondelez and Altria. It's also among a number of spinouts being completed by corporations, joining GSK spinoff Haleon, J&J's Kenvue and a forthcoming company that will spin out of 3M.
Even with a name that emphasizes moving forward, Kellanova is keeping one element that is familiar: The logo still has the iconic cursive K. It will even get the boldly simple stock ticker symbol "K" to go along with it.
(Courtesy photo)
Even the WK Kellogg Co is combining the past and future. The company is seeking to position itself as a "117-year-old startup," even as it draws on the name and signature of the Kellogg's founder. There's even a more subtle hint about an unwritten chapter: The "Co" doesn't have a period.
(Courtesy photo)
To get to the future, you need to bring along a bit of the past.
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