Topco lands Hallmark Channel holiday cameos for private brands

Topco Associates plans a holiday promotional sweetener for three of its core food and beverage private brands.

Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based Topco, a $17.6 billion food retail and wholesale group purchasing organization, has partnered with the Hallmark Channel to spotlight peppermint-flavored treats for regional retailers and independent grocers nationwide in tandem with a new Hallmark Channel original movie. Under the “Countdown to Christmas” campaign, the limited-time snacks from Topco labels Crav’n Flavor, Food Club and Wide Awake Coffee Co. will be featured with the Hallmark holiday programming through Dec. 17.

“This partnership with Hallmark Channel is an exciting opportunity to build awareness of these brands as well as the limited-time offer items available during the holiday season with our shoppers,” according to Topco member Boyd Irving, vice president of exclusive brands for Associated Food Stores. “The peppermint-flavored items from these brands are a natural match for the holiday movie-watching season.”

The festive, peppermint-flavored items to be featured on the Hallmark Channel include the Crav’n Flavor Candy Cane Sandwich Cookie, Food Club Peppermint Ice Cream and Peppermint Twists, and Wide Awake Coffee Co. Peppermint Stick Coffee, which comes in ground beans and compostable single-serve pods. Topco said the brands also will offer peppermint-themed recipes to prepare shoppers “for a Hallmark Channel holiday movie-watching marathon.”

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Topco is highlighting the Hallmark Channel promotion on its Crav'n and Food Club food and beverage brand websites. / Image courtesy of Topco

Crav’n Flavor, Food Club and Wide Awake Coffee Co. also will be part of giveaways on the Hallmark channel website and social media. That includes Hallmark’s “Very Merry Giveaway,” which Topco called the “tentpole sweepstakes” hosted on the Hallmark Channel website, as well as social media giveaways of Hallmark Channel-themed prizes, such as Hallmark Channel Movie Bingo sheets and Hallmark ornaments.

“Our priority is to meet our viewers wherever they are and to bring them new ways to enhance their Hallmark movie-viewing experience, and our collaboration with Topco is a perfect example of that goal brought to life,” commented Lara Richardson, chief marketing officer for Hallmark Media. “The taste and smell of peppermint is synonymous with the holiday season, and we’re confident that these collaborations will bring our devoted fans joy, warmth and comfort—Hallmark’s unique recipe for success.”

Topco’s 45 member-owners together collectively represent nearly $180 billion in retail sales and thousands of stores, including 22 U.S. food and drug retailers, 19 U.S. food and grocery wholesalers, three international retailers, two pharmacy companies and one foodservice company. The GPO’s roster of 19 private labels includes such brands as Food Club, Crav’n Flavor, TopCare, Wide Awake Coffee Co., Full Circle Market, Simply Done, Tippy Toes, Basket & Bushel, Premium Cornershop Cuts, Sweet P’s Bake Shop, That’s Smart and Culinary Tours.

Crav’n Flavor encompasses more than 300 meal and snack products, ranging from cookies, crackers and salty snacks to frozen appetizers, breakfasts, entrees, desserts and pizza, along with refrigerated cookie dough and beef jerky, Topco reported. Found in most aisles of the store, Food Club spans over 2,600 items, from baking mixes and canned vegetables to frozen pastas and refrigerated doughs. The Wide Awake Coffee Co. features 100% Arabica ground beans, compostable single-serve pods, ready-to-drink cold brews and creamers.