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You can ditch the bonfire and tedious rotating of a marshmallow-stacked stick across an open flame this summer. Instead, you can make s\u2019mores with just boiling water or a microwave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t knock it until you try it, instant ramen brand Cup Noodles says. It launched its s\u2019mores-flavored noodles<\/a> on Monday, the latest in a slate of bizarrely flavored products to boost consumer intrigue and prove it can defy its cheap-eats reputation.<\/p>\n Parent company Nissin will sell the product for a limited time exclusively at Walmart<\/a> for $1.18. The microwavable noodles contain a chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker-flavored sauce imbued with \u201ca smokey note.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Campfire S\u2019mores further diversifies Cup Noodle\u2019s offerings beyond its chicken- and seafood-infused flavors. Nissin has launched Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese<\/a> noodles and Breakfast<\/a> ramen with a sweet-savory broth with notes of maple syrup, pancakes, sausage, and eggs. It\u2019s part of the company\u2019s playbook to be more than just a dinner or late-night snack beloved by cash-strapped and hungover college students.<\/p>\n \u201cRamen is eaten at all parts of the day during all times,\u201d Nissin Foods USA senior vice president of marketing Priscila Stanton told CNN<\/a>. \u201cWe believe that ramen can play in all of these different areas, and sweet is definitely one of those areas that we\u2019ve had some success in.\u201d<\/p>\n Instant ramen is the poster child<\/a> of affordable foods that have grown in popularity amid high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis making consumers more sensitive to grocery prices. Helped particularly in the U.S., Nissin has taken advantage of consumers\u2019 search for affordability to the tune of a 14.5% revenue boost<\/a> in 2024\u2019s first quarter from a year before.<\/p>\n The unconventional combinations may stand out on shelves, but they\u2019re also in good company with a growing number of brands trying to cash in on Gen Z\u2019s love of bizarre flavors<\/a>. Ice cream purveyor Van Leeuwen\u2019s launched a Kraft mac and cheese-flavored dessert in 2021, followed by pizza- and Hidden Valley Ranch<\/a>-flavored offerings a year later. Combined with Sour Patch Kid Oreos as well as spicy and salty Coca-Cola<\/a>, the products create a meal perfect for agents of chaos\u2014tummy aches be damned.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no joke, argued Kyle Shadix, corporate executive research chef for PepsiCo<\/a>, who helped create maple and strawberry shortcake Pepsi available in Japan. Tinkering with Mexican, Korean, and Japanese flavors, he keeps the next generation of consumers in mind when designing new products.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re every chef\u2019s dream to design for,\u201d Shadix told Fortune<\/em><\/a> in May. \u201cGen Z is going to drive us faster. We\u2019re going to start to see even more exploration quicker than in the past because they\u2019re just so open to it.\u201d<\/p>\n While the flavors may be bizarre, the strategy of elevating them to drive sales is tried and true.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is trying to figure out, how do you increase consumption? Trying to get people to eat their products at a different time of day, or a different usage occasion, or a different type of event,\u201d Braden Douglas, founder and CEO of marketing agency Crew Marketing Partners, told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n He believes this tactic is what has driven the put-an-egg-on-it mentality<\/a> for easy dinners or the steak-and-egg and chicken-and-waffle brunch craze that extends proteins beyond dinnertime. <\/p>\n Expanding usage occasions is why WK Kellogg<\/a> CEO Gary Pilnick encouraged consumers to eat \u201ccereal for dinner\u201d or why PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said savory snack fans should try eating Doritos and Rold Gold Pretzels as \u201cside dishes and ingredients<\/a>\u201d for meals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the easiest and fastest ways to grow, sales and volume of your products,\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n The strategy also helps Nissin break out of its reputation of being just a cheap snack or last-ditch dinner effort, according to GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders. Despite Campfire S\u2019mores being billed as available for a limited time, he\u2019s convinced it will stick around, as will the trend of unconventional flavors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s positioned as being something that\u2019s quite interesting and novel, not just a boring thing you\u2019d buy because you\u2019re on a budget,\u201d he told CNN.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRamen around the clock<\/strong><\/h2>\n