SOLON, Ohio -- Nestle Prepared Foods Co. has announced a major makeover of the Hot Pockets brand sandwiches line, the biggest changes in the brand's 30 years. Featuring the new tagline "Better Taste, Better Quality" with new premium cuts of meat, new buttery seasoned crusts and real cheese, the new-and-improved Hot Pockets sandwiches are "Irresistibly Hot" and now available at participating retail stores nationwide with a money-back guarantee. If consumers aren't completely satisfied with the new and improved Hot Pockets sandwiches, their purchase will be refunded.
New television advertising showcases the changes in flavor, appearance and aroma, as well as packaging. Hot Pockets also showcases the new and improved changes in all of its social media and on its website.
The improved flavor varieties of Hot Pockets sandwiches include premium meats such as 100% angus beef, hickory ham, signature pepperoni, and white meat chicken. New Hot Pockets sandwiches are wrapped in new crusts with baked-in flavor. The pizza varieties feature a new garlic buttery seasoned crust, and the deli sandwich varieties have a new crispy buttery seasoned crust.
"Hot Pockets is excited to grow with its fan base, and really, the dialogue with our fans has spurred these major changes," said brand director Daniel Jhung. "Our fans, namely millennial consumers, have high food IQs and high expectations, and because they expect more, we gave it to them. In blind taste tests, three out of five consumers significantly preferred the new and improved Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza sandwiches over our prior recipes. In fact, we are so confident fans will love the new and improved Hot Pockets sandwiches that we are offering a money-back guarantee."
The new Hot Pockets brand sandwiches also have a new spokesperson--celebrity chef Jeff Mauro, host of the Food Network series Sandwich King and "$24 in 24." Mauro previously was crowned the winner of The Next Food Network Star competition during its seventh season. Together with Chef Lucien Vendome of the Nestle Culinary Center in Solon, Ohio, Mauro opened the doors of the Nestle Kitchen in Chatsworth, Calif., for the first time to show the public all of the quality care and ingredients that go into making Hot Pockets sandwiches.
The Hot Pockets brand has been around for 30 years; Nestle acquired the brand in 2002.
Brands of Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle include Nestle Toll House, Nestle Nesquik, Nestle Coffee-Mate, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets, Nescafe, Nestle Juicy Juice, Buitoni, Dreyer's/Edy's, Nestle Crunch, Nestle Butterfinger, Wonka, Digiorno, Tombstone, California Pizza Kitchen and Jack's.
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