Dive Brief:

• Ferrero is overhauling Power Crunch with a new formula and packaging a year-and-a-half after acquiring the wafer-based protein bar brand.
• The reformulation “includes a rebalancing of ingredients to support the updated product experience and overall taste profile,” a brand spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The changes, which preserve Power Crunch’s distinctive wafer format, were influenced by consumer feedback.
• The new packaging features more color, updated fonts and imagery that better showcases the product and ingredients, the spokesperson noted. It also provides Power Crunch with a more modern identity.

Dive Insight:

Power Crunch is one of the dozens of brands Nutella maker Ferrero has bought during the past few years to become a major player in the U.S. food market. While the company has been able to successfully turn around many of its acquired brands, Power Crunch has struggled.

Launched in 2003, Power Crunch was purchased by Ferrero from Bio-Nutritional Research for an undisclosed amount in January of last year. The bar gave Ferrero, best known for its confections, cookies and other offerings, a better-for-you snack centered on protein. Power Crunch’s bars and crisps also are portable, which connects with shopper interest in on-the-go snacking.

The sweets maker said at the time of the purchase that the protein snacks brand “has seen strong growth recently.” But it has proven to be one of the few brands that has not thrived soon after Ferrero took ownership.

Michael Lindsey, president and chief business officer for Ferrero North America, told Food Dive in May that Power Crunch had seen sales slip by double digits during the prior six months. Ferrero declined to provide updated figures.

In addition to the ingredients and packaging refresh, Power Crunch is adopting a new slogan — “A Lighter Way to Protein” — that highlights what makes the product unique in the protein bar space. Unlike other dense, chewy bars, Power Crunch emphasizes the light, crispy texture in its wafers. Each bar contains between 12 and 14 grams of protein.

"Fall is often a season of fresh starts and new routines, making it the perfect moment to reintroduce Power Crunch to consumers," Daniel Cutchin, general manager of Power Crunch at Ferrero USA, said in a statement.

For much of its time in the U.S., Ferrero was known for its Nutella spread, golden-wrapped Ferrero Rochers and minty Tic Tacs.

But this changed when it spent $2.8 billion to purchase Nestlé’s U.S. chocolate business in 2018, which added more than 20 American candy brands to its portfolio, including Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and 100 Grand.

The sweets and snacks maker bought Kellogg’s cookies and fruit snacks business for $1.3 billion a year later, giving Ferrero an entry into cookies with the Keebler and Famous Amos brands. And last year, it closed its $3.1 billion acquisition of cereal maker WK Kellogg.

Ferrero hasn’t been afraid to tweak the formulation or packaging of a brand following an acquisition, like it is with Power Crunch.

With Butterfinger, Ferrero added higher-quality ingredients — like jumbo runner peanuts and a higher percentage of cocoa and milk in the chocolate coating — while changing the packaging to a more yellow color from orange to help it stand out on shelves. It also changed Keebler Chips Deluxe to be made with natural vanilla and more real chocolate.