Kraft’s attempt to buy Cadbury has gone from Cadbury trying to tease more money from Kraft, to Cadbury rejecting Kraft’s firm offer, to Kraft going into hostile-takeover mode, setting the stage for a long boardroom battle for chocolate control.

Does that sound as complicated as nougat yet? Now, enter Hershey. North America’s largest chocolate manufacturer (and the brand responsible for 10% of my diet) has been eyeing Cadbury for weeks and might partner with Ferrero, the Italian chocolate-maker responsible for Nutella, to make a run at the coveted confectioner.

Both Hershey and Ferrero have been mum, but the reports are likely to force Kraft to raise its offer, which could lead to a “Barbarians at the Gate” slugfest reminiscent of the leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco 20 years ago.Continue reading...

The cupcake bust is coming, at least according to Slate. But if you want to catch the tail end of the cupcake phenomenon, how do you get in?

The notion of just baking delicious sweets seems fairly stale at this point. Here are a few niches in the cupcake market that bakers are using to let their brand stand out.Continue reading...

What would you do for a Klondike Bar? If the answer is: flee your nagging wife and children and reclaim your manhood, you seem to be Klondike’s newest target market.

On the Klondike website currently, you will find a man cave, where you can play a video game that revolves around helping staid, suburban Khaki Pants Pete go out on the town with a 21-year-old babysitter and watch pudding wrestling at a strip club. (Because real men drink Buds, watch the NFL and eat dainty delicious ice cream sandwiches.)

If this technique had been used to promote either Budweiser or the NFL it would have made sense – rather than forcing viewers to imagine a world where ice cream bars are the ultimate in rebellion.Continue reading...