Campbell’s Kettle chips is sampling at Trailhead Place for the first time in Canada as it looks to invest marketing dollars into its top-performing SKUs through 2022.

Organized by Influence Marketing, Trailhead Place is an outdoor market and lakeside patio that sits along Toronto’s waterfront near Ontario Place. It features a variety of vendors, including CPG brands Perrier, Beyond Meat and Smirnoff, and hosts live music daily in a bike and pet-friendly space.  

“This is the first time we’ve done a sampling event of this type for our snacks brand,” says Friyana Engineer, brand manager for Campbell. “This was a great opportunity to drive awareness and trial to our primary [millennial] target group… We are leaning on the appeal of Ontario Place as a destination for the weekend and its beautiful scenery to attract patrons.”

Engineer tells strategy that Kettle is a priority brand for Campbell’s, with investments intended for further growth in 2022, as Honey Dijon, Sea Salt and Vinegar, as well as Sea Salt and Cheddar continue to be top-performing SKUs for the CPG.

The Trailhead Place program is a complement to Kettle’s “Back To Mindful” national campaign, which also includes a shopper marketing program led by The Mars Agency and launching this month across Loblaw and Sobeys banners, with the same in-store creative being leveraged for the outdoor sampling program.

Continued uncertainty surrounding successive pandemic waves means that consumers could continue to turn to snacks as an escape, with 59% of Canadians reporting that they had increased the amount of comfort food they purchased as a result of lockdowns. 

The Kettle Trailhead Place sampling program runs every weekend for the next six weeks, wrapping up on Labour Day. And, according to Engineer, while there are no other sampling events planned, Campbell will explore other opportunities as they arise.