General Mills, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corp. collaborated on Hormel Black Label bacon featuring a sugary crust of “cinnadust.” The dust was formulated from Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and aimed to create a balance of sweet and savory flavor notes.

General Mills also launched Old El Paso Cinnamon Toast Crunch dessert taco shells. The product featured the same dust coating combined with the existing Old El Paso taco shell recipe.

Poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. unveiled its Pilgrim’s Ultimate Nuggets smash cake kit, a savory twist on the smash birthday cake. The kit comes with Pilgrim’s chicken nuggets to serve as a base, with mashed potatoes as a substitute for frosting.

“Pilgrim’s is shaking up the smash cake celebration just like we did the chicken nugget game, so only the unexpected will do,” said Chelsea Parker, senior director of brand marketing at Pilgrim's US.

Sonic aimed to capitalize on the sweet and savory flavor trend with the unusual mashup of peanut butter and bacon. The peanut butter bacon double cheeseburger featured two beef patties layered with peanut butter, bacon, grilled onions, cheese and a toasted bun. The peanut butter bacon shake blended peanut butter with vanilla soft serve and bacon bits.

“Peanut butter and bacon is not a combination you’d expect on a cheeseburger and you definitely wouldn’t think to combine these flavors into a shake, but at Sonic, we ignore what everyone else considers normal,” said Mackenzie Gibson, vice president of culinary and menu innovation at Sonic.

Convenience chain Casey’s responded to the increase in demand for pickle products with its pickle wrap pizza. The pizza featured a mix of Philadelphia brand whipped cream cheese, chopped ham, bacon, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and thick-cut pickles on top of original or thin crust dough.

“We are always experimenting with ways to serve guests the flavors they crave, test out trending ingredients and explore fresh ideas to add to each slice,” said Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer at Casey’s. “Our bold, inventive pickle wrap pizza is bringing the people what they want in a way that is distinctly Casey's.”

Mondelez International, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Co. partnered to introduce the Oreo Coca-Cola sandwich cookie and Coca-Cola Oreo Zero Sugar soda. The cookie combined the traditional Oreo format with Coca-Cola soda flavor notes and edible red glitter, and the beverage mixed Coca-Cola Zero Sugar soda with a hint of Oreo cookie flavor.

Ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins launched “brie my guest,” a seasonal ice cream flavor inspired by the popularity of cheeseboards. The menu item combined brie and burrata flavored ice cream with almonds, pistachio pieces and apricot swirls.

“Our new flavor of the month is a bold twist on the best parts of a cheeseboard that will delight your guests and spark conversation at the table,” said Jerid Grandinetti, vice president of marketing and culinary at Baskin-Robbins.

IHOP debuted Pepsi maple syrup cola nationwide in 2024. The product, which had a limited market release in 2022, combined the caramel cola flavors of Pepsi soda with maple syrup flavor notes, according to the company. In addition to being available as a soda, the product was also offered in a vanilla ice cream float format.

“We are continually innovating and expanding our menu to ensure we are introducing menu items our guests want, including the introduction of fun and exciting new beverage options like Pepsi maple syrup cola,” said Art Carl, vice president of culinary at IHOP.

The Kraft Heinz Co. experimented with a hole-less bagel format under its Philadelphia brand. The Philadelphia bagel “wholes” were developed to provide additional space for cream cheese spreads, according to the company.

“We’ve heard our fans question why bagels have holes and the limitations it poses for their favorite cream cheese, and we couldn’t agree more,” said Keenan White, senior brand manager for Philadelphia at Kraft Heinz.

Hidden Valley Ranch and Kellanova collaborated on Cheezy Ranch. The condiment combined the zesty flavor notes of Hidden Valley Ranch with cheese flavors inspired by Kellanova’s Cheeze-It crackers.