IRVING, Texas, and OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. --7-Eleven Inc. and Ferrara Candy Co.'s Trolli brand have teamed up to launch Trolli Sour Brite Weird Beards candy. Inspired by the beard of basketball star James Harden, the new sour gummy is available at participating 7-Eleven convenience stores for a limited time.
To create excitement around the new Sour Brite Weird Beards, Trolli created a "Crawlers for Ballers" campaign that includes in-store displays and social media.
"Weirdly Awesome" displays will debut inside 7-Eleven stores with larger-than-life images of Harden's face and beard, splashed with Trolli's bright colors and most popular flavor combinations—Cherry/Lemon (red/yellow), Strawberry/Grape (pink/blue) and Orange/Lime (orange/green).
"We created the Crawlers for Bawlers campaign to combine James Harden's love for basketball with our popular Sour Brite Crawlers. Weird Beards will help us reach our current fans in a fun way, and grab the attention of the Generation Z and millennial Trolli fans who shop at 7-Eleven," said Allison Wyrwicz, brand manager at Ferrara Candy.
"As the largest U.S. convenience-store-chain retailer, 7-Eleven brings not only the power of its brand but also savvy, sports-centric shoppers who will appreciate our new Weird Beards candy," said Chris Avery, vice president of the convenience channel for Ferrara Candy. "James' basketball fan base will enjoy getting inside his head throughout May and June, coinciding with the national basketball playoffs."
A Weird Beard promotion on 7Rewards, 7-Eleven's smartphone app, will feature surprise giveaways during the two-month Crawlers for Ballers campaign. Weird Beard contests and giveaways will also pop up unexpectedly on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Harden himself may pop up in additional weird and awesome ways throughout the campaign.
"7-Eleven is always looking for new and different on-trend products to bring to our customers. Trolli's new Weird Beard candy definitely meets those requirements," said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for 7-Eleven. "The in-store displays and social media campaign add fun and differentiating elements that our customers have come to expect and enjoy from us."
Ferrara Candy's Trolli Sour Brite Weird Beards are available at participating 7-Eleven locations in the United States through June 30.
Based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., Ferrara Candy is a leading general-line candy manufacturer, created by the merger of Ferrara Pan Candy Co. Inc. and Farley's & Sathers Candy Co Inc. in 2012. It manufactures a portfolio of branded and private-label confections.
7 Eleven, based in Irving, Texas, operates, franchises and licenses more than 10,700 convenience stores in the United States and Canada. Globally, nearly 60,000 7-Eleven stores, operating in 17 countries, serve more than 44 million customers every day.
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