Sabra is hoping to drive snacking with its latest flavour innovations, which include cross-branding with McCormick’s Stubb’s and Frank’s RedHot brands.

Sabra has three new products, one of which is a Southwest-style hummus. The other two are collaborations with McCormick: Sabra Buffalo Hummus made with Frank’s RedHot and Sabra BBQ Hummus inspired by Stubb’s.

Kevin Perron, Sabra’s GM for Canada and U.S. strategic channels, says consumers are looking for healthier, better for you snacking options, but are still looking for new and interesting flavours.

“As consumers snack, they continue to look for bolder flavours, and to change up their snacking routines,” Perron says, adding that this is especially the case with younger consumers.

McCormick, Perron says, has strong equity through its “iconic” Stubbs and Frank’s RedHot brands.

“We see a big opportunity to acquire new users to the category,” Perron says.

Perron tells strategy that in terms of target, there are hummus “likers” and not lovers, a group that purchases the product two to three times a year, typically around holidays for entertaining. The key challenge, he explains, is how to drive additional items and frequency.

The launch campaign is multi-pronged, and includes point of sale shopper shelf blades created with agency partner Neptune, which executes Sabra’s in-store materials.

The point of sale callout is a focus on bold flavours – “the snack your snacks wanna snack on” – and ensuring that Sabra snacking is top of mind with Canadian consumers.

Sabra’s goal is to send traffic to the fresh dip section, Perron says, to drive incrementality and awareness. To that end, the brand is also activating through trade promotions, flyer activations, loyalty programs and across retailer digital commerce platforms to encourage a full funnel activation and that consumers are aware of the product.

According to Perron, Sabra is maintaining elements of its core branding, and that consumers will see “impactful tweaks” to the sub-range of products.

First and foremost, there is a large callout to its McCormick-owned licensing partners. There is also slight move away from the traditional dipping items, like carrots and celery, in favour of things like tortilla chips for the Southwest flavour.

PR and influencer relations for the campaign launch were conducted by LC3 Communications, and include video like that from @Dineandfash (below).

Sabra was also included in TV morning show segments in the key market of Ontario ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend.