Chips Ahoy boosts new recipe with Keke Palmer and Malibu ‘re-treat’

Dive Brief:

Chips Ahoy is going all-in on a recipe reformulation for its signature blue bag cookie with a celebrity led campaign, new packaging and a vacation giveaway, per a press release. This is the most extensive update to the Mondelez International brand’s recipe in a decade.
The “MMMproved” cookie will come in fresh packaging that promotes the changes and applies updates to the Chips Ahoy logo, among other elements. The new formula and packaging will begin hitting select shelves this month prior to a nationwide rollout in April.
To support the reformulation, a campaign featuring Keke Palmer will be front and center on the cookie brand’s digital channels. Additionally, consumers will have the chance to win a trip to a brand-themed luxury beach house in Malibu, California.

Dive Insight:

Chips Ahoy is raising awareness for its recipe reformulation through revamped packaging, a digital campaign and a sweepstakes. The effort follows the product’s 60th birthday celebration last year, which keyed into the nautical theme of the brand’s name with a yacht experience. This time around, the cookie — which holds a 53% market share, per the press release — is punning on the idea of a “re-treat.”

Chips Ahoy packaging against a white backaground. — Chips Ahoy’s new packaging highlights the brand’s largest recipe reformulation in nearly a decade.

Courtesy of Mondelēz International, Inc.

Tweaked packaging highlights the new recipe, which features higher cocoa content in the chips and a higher concentration of Madagascar vanilla. Additionally, the design features updated imagery, with an overhauled logo and greater attention put on confetti elements to show off the brand’s personality.

Beyond packaging, Chips Ahoy has enlisted Palmer to get the word out and tout the trip to Malibu through online video and social posts. A winner of the sweepstakes will be treated to a weekend at a luxury beach house in the California locale. The contest can be entered via QR codes, which could help the company collect valuable first-party data from its consumers, or via comments on social media that could boost the brand’s profile.

Chips Ahoy has made inroads with Gen Z through its animated Chip character and an AR project launched in support of multicultural teen artists. Mondelez has shifted the brand’s strategy to focus more squarely on digital channels and experiential marketing, ditching linear TV. The reformulation comes after the packaged food giant saw 14.7% organic net revenue growth in 2023.