This week's Fun Friday kicks off with the Color of the Year from Pantone: Mocha Mousse. 

"The Pantone Color of the Year program engages the design community and color enthusiasts in a conversation around color, highlighting the relationship between color and culture. Pantone selects a color each year that captures the global zeitgeist—the Color of the Year express a global mood and an attitude, reflecting collective desire in the form of a single, distinct hue," the company explains.

"For 2025, the Pantone Color Institute selects PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort."

Read more info on the Color of the Year here.

Crumbl wants employees to eat its cookies

ezCater, a food tech platform for workplaces in the U.S., recently announced a new partnership with Crumbl, purveyor of cookies and other desserts. Workplaces across the country can now order Crumbl’s cookies on ezcater.com and the ezCater app for meetings, celebrations, and everyday moments at work.

A recent ezCater survey found that 76% of U.S. workers enjoy small treats during work at least once a week and 30% indulge daily, with cookies as one of their top three treats. With ezCater's nationwide reach, Crumbl franchisees can now reach more high-value customers and further capitalize on the demand for treats in the workplace.

Read our full article here.

Nutella, Hallmark Channel partner to share the love this holiday season

Ferrero's Nutella brand is sharing the love with families this holiday season by teaming up with Hallmark Channel to foster connections through baking. As part of this partnership, Nutella was featured in a new original movie on Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas, Deck the Walls, which premiered on Hallmark Channel on Friday, November 29 at 8 pm.

The holidays are a time to celebrate connections with loved ones and for countless families across the country that bond is celebrated through baking holiday desserts together. Nutella is taking this timeless tradition to television screens nationwide with actors Ashley Greene, Wes Brown, and Danny Pellegrino, who come together to bake Holiday Cutout Cookies with Nutella as a family in Deck the Walls. 

In addition to Nutella's partnership with Hallmark, the brand is hosting a Nutella Holiday Recipe "Guess the Movie" Trivia on Instagram. Nutella will release a series of new recipes on its social channels and encourage consumers to connect the festive recipe with an iconic holiday movie. Some consumers who guess correctly may even receive a surprise from the brand.

Brach's: Candy cane season is here

Did you know that most Americans (90%) agree candy canes are a tradition? In fact, Ferrara's Brach's brand accounts for 23% of candy canes sold in the U.S. and produced more than 388 million candy canes in 2024, equating to 7.9 million pounds.

The candy brand recently issued a holiday trend report that uncovered candy cane insights, including how Americans plan to celebrate the season. Fun Fact: America’s favorite candy cane flavors are peppermint (49%), cherry (18%), and blueberry (13%).

Some Candy Cane history and fun facts:

  • Traditions: Majority of Americans use candy canes to decorate a Christmas tree (60%), eat as a treat (58%), or to fill stockings (50%). 
  • Sweet memories: Most Americans (80%) agree candy canes are nostalgic, refreshing (77%), and delicious (75%). 
  • Origins: According to the History Channel, it’s said that candy canes date back to as early as the late 1600s, when sugar sticks were handed out to young singers in Germany during Christmas celebrations.
  • Sales: Brach's sees its strongest sales two weeks before Christmas, with over 44% of candy canes sold between the second and third week of December. 
  • Candy cane-loving cities: Brach's sells the most candy canes in New York City, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, and South Carolina. 

Single Cheetos puff sells for $20,000 on eBay

Two weeks ago, Frito-Lay's Cheetos brand (@Cheetos) on Instagram posted something rather intriguing. It said:

A banana taped to a wall with a piece of duct tape just sold for over 6 million dollars at auction.

No shade to the prince of potassium, but we think we can do better, so we’re holding an auction of our own.

Seriously…one lucky person will receive a single Cheetos Puff and some tape.*

The bidding is live. Let’s show that banana who’s boss.

*In addition to this priceless piece of art, winning bid will receive a supply of Cheetos in the amount equivalent to their bid.

On Thursday November 21, bidding went live, and the "Mischief by Chester" artwork ended up selling for $20,000 on eBay, from a Houston-based Cheetos fan.

Cheez-It to bring college football fans' absurd "Fantaseez" to life at 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

Bowl season is almost here, and Kellanova's Cheez-It Citrus Bowl is bringing more absurd experiences than ever before. College football fans have wild game day fantasies they can only dream about—like proposing on the jumbotron or delivering a halftime peptalk to their favorite team. Cheez-It is no stranger to turning dreams into reality, and is making this year's bowl game into the ultimate stage for bringing those dreams to life—the more absurd the better! That's right, Cheez-It is turning college football "Fantaseez" into 100% real experiences for consumers, players, and even its mascot.

By submitting their own absurd Fantaseez at cheezit.com/footballfantaseez, consumers have a chance to bring them to life on game day. Some of the Fantaseez consumers can enter to win include a two-minute "timeout wedding" on the field during the game, with Cheez-It mascot Chez-Z officiating; being the official "Cheez-Caster" aka broadcasting on the game's absurdity; and consumers can submit their own Fantaseez ideas, too.

Every aspect of the game is getting the Fantaseez treatment at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl—even the players and Ched-Z. Cheez-It is showing some love to players with name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals again this year, giving these athletes the chance to fulfill their most absurd football Fantaseez. Additionally, with the help of a consumer, Cheez-It will fulfill mascot Ched-Z's fantasy of making the ultimate field goal. Consumers who want to live out their ultimate football fantaseez at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl can enter here through 12/15 for a chance to have Cheez-It make them into reality.

Helping lead the charge in turning Fantaseez into realities is the brand's newly appointed and first-ever college football CFO ("Chief Fantaseez Officer"): a reality TV star and absurdly obsessed fan who has on-the-job-experience living out his own Cheez-It fantasy, Kordell Beckham. As CFO, Beckham will help bring college football Fantaseez to life, assisting Cheez-It in finding the consumers who are truly "Feelin' the Cheeziest" and making their Fantaseez 100% real on game day.

The 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl kicks off on Dec. 31 at 3 pm ET on ABC.