Kraft Heinz brand KD is taking to Twitch to settle a debate about whether its new snack-sized cup flavours hold up to the original.

The company is using the streaming platform to generate interest in its new KD Flavour Cups, which come in Spicy Buffalo, Jalapeno and Poutine varieties. It’s hosting “#KDFlavourDebate” – what it dubs “Canada’s first ever live-streamed branded debate on Twitch” – to have personalities Stacey Roy and ChuBoi represent each side on June 9.

Rachel Drof, head of North American brand communication for the easy meals segment at Kraft Heinz Canada, tells strategy that in order to drive brand affinity with its target audience of Gen Z and millennials, KD first set out to intercept this audience where they are actively gaming in 2021. That’s when it promoted the launch of its Flavour Boost packets – which replace the standard cheese preparation in a KD box with similar flavours to the new, on-to-go bowls – with “Bits for Boost,” where viewers could use Twitch’s in-stream currency to buy the products.

“Knowing this younger audience spends significant time streaming, and as they get hungry, they crave bold, edgy flavours,” Drof says. “KD naturally inserted itself into a relevant conversation that would get younger audiences talking.”

According to Drof, the way the company approaches consumer engagement is continuing to evolve at Kraft Heinz, and as it launched the new KD Flavour Cups SKUs, the brand needed to find the right intersection between KD, fans, and culture. Kraft Dinner, Drof says, is looking to continue to connect with younger generations who grew up eating the iconic comfort food, but start to outgrow it as they reach adulthood.

“As new flavour focused competitors looked to enter the market, we needed to find ways to reinforce the brand’s status as a Canadian icon among younger audiences and after recognizing this target seeks bold experiences, own the flavour conversation,” Drof says.

The smaller, snack-sized format is geared toward those looking for quick, on-the-go meal options, and she says it anticipate many opportunities to expand the category with new product innovations.

The broader campaign includes a TikTok takeover and paid buys behind the campaign hashtag on Twitter. That will help enabled digital OOH elements, which will update with live Twitter content from users weighing in on the debate.

The campaign was developed by Rethink, with communications and influencer partnership led by Middle Child. Carat is handling media and in-house agency The Kitchen is handling community engagement.