The holiday season is a big time for both brands and consumers. According to Ibotta’s Top 10 Holiday Shopping Trends for 2024, consumers are cooking and baking from scratch these holidays. Per their survey, the top two categories for most commonly purchased groceries for the holidays are baking products and dairy and eggs, respectively.
To capture some of this consumer holiday spend, these next few weeks are crucial for brands to communicate how their products fit into consumers’ traditions or how their products can be a part of new traditions. Whether your brand is dropping a new line of products just in time for the holidays or highlighting a recipe perfect for the season, tradition is what brings us all—family, friends, and even strangers—together during the holiday season.
TIS THE SEASON FOR BAKED GOODIES
The holidays are the season for baked treats (and not just because Santa has a sweet tooth), with 93% of Americans baking cookies during the season and 61% preparing three or more batches. And those goodies aren’t just for enjoying at home while watching Hallmark movies. Embracing the spirit of giving, 40% of Americans plan to gift baked goods this year, with 62% considering them the best gifts to receive.
Amidst all of that holiday hustle, staples like raisins are enjoying renewed popularity. Sun-Maid reports a spike in demand during the season as consumers embrace nostalgic recipes like oatmeal raisin cookies, cinnamon raisin bread, raisin spice cake and even the vastly underrated fruitcake.
Sun-Maid is highlighting its dried fruits as special ingredients for this holiday season, stating “If you can dream it, you can pull it off with Sun-Maid!” Sun-Maid’s holiday communications are to help consumers “Pull off the Holidays” by giving away up to $1,000 with specially marked Sun-Maid 20 oz. canisters during the holiday season. In promoting this holiday campaign, Sun-Maid is inspiring consumers to bake through digital and shopper media, organic social media, influencers, and sweepstakes.
NEW TRADITIONS AND NEW FLAVORS
With the continuous growth of multicultural demographics, more consumers are eager to taste and adopt diverse foods and traditions. With much of Gen Z leading the way, many international flavors like Mexican, Korean, and more are being explored and gaining in popularity. Consumers want to experiment with these other cultures and their traditions due to the increased visibility of these cultures through their diverse friends as well as social media. Through social celebrations such as friendsgiving, many consumers experience new traditions that they enjoy and want to make their own, signaling a crucial inflection point for consumers.
One of our clients, Del Real Foods, sees this trend of new traditions as an opportunity to give consumers what they’re looking for, bringing more people together. Sr. Brand Manager, Sergio Trujillo, says “At Del Real Foods, we exist to spread the love of Hispanic culture through real food, creating opportunities for consumers to explore diverse traditions and flavors. As multicultural demographics grow and international cuisines become more celebrated, we’re proud to bring authentic Mexican flavors to the forefront, inspiring new traditions and shared moments around the table.”
QUENCH’S CONCEPT
This is a time of giving thanks and celebrating traditions, both new and old. Brands should offer consumers recipe ideas using the brand’s products or suggest products as alternative ingredients to enhance the flavor of more traditional recipes.
With the influx of multicultural and international flavors and traditions, find ways to incorporate your products into new, diverse traditions (if the fit seems natural). Take advantage of the opportunity to bring new traditions to consumers who are looking for multicultural traditions they can love and enjoy with the people they love.
