In August 2024, an accidental leak of a new single serve bottle innovation and a subsequent Instagram post by a trusted snack influencer with over half a million followers sent Capri Sun fans into a downward spiral over their favorite nostalgic drink. Quickly setting off an internet frenzy, the rumor that Capri Sun was swapping out its iconic pouches with bottles went viral - within hours of the post fans stormed to social media to express their disappointment. Hundreds of articles started pouring in and media flooded the brand’s inbox, looking for comment on the consumer backlash.
With the internet distraught over the idea that Capri Sun’s iconic pouches could be replaced with bottles, the brand needed a quick, yet strategic and playful way to shift the narrative and reinforce the iconic pouches are here to stay - and they needed to do it quickly!
Rather than shy away from the strong fan response, Capri Sun seized the opportunity to not only set the record straight but also strengthen this brand love even further. The message across earned and social media was clear – fans of all ages have a deep love for Capri Sun rooted in nostalgic memories of drinking the iconic silver pouches throughout their childhood. So the brand did something epic to acknowledge that fandom and launched the “Pouch Pallet” - a quantity of more than 3,800 Capri Sun pouches typically reserved for the brand’s retail partners, that would be delivered directly to fans’ doorsteps via Walmart.com.
Once rumors about the fate of the Capri Sun pouch started swirling online the brand was faced with a few challenges. First and foremost they needed to correct the narrative and let people know the pouches were not going away! In doing so, they needed to make sure they did not give away too much about the new innovation, which was not set to launch until early 2025, and spoil a carefully crafted announcement at that later date.
To shift the focus and regain fan trust, the brand doubled down on its strongest asset - the pouches - and the “Pouch Pallet” was born. After all, what better way to reassure fans that the pouches aren’t going anywhere, than offering up a quantity that has never been available to consumers before? The Capri Sun “Pouch Pallet” strategically and playfully reassured fans that they won’t have to worry about missing their favorite drink anytime soon, authentically tapping into the brand love seen in droves throughout the newscycle
With Labor Day weekend quickly approaching, a timely response was critical to effectively squashing internet rumors and getting in front of media before it was too late. In less than 24 hours, the brand quickly and cross-functionally transformed the “Pouch Pallet” from an idea to a reality. Capri Sun quickly debuted a limited-run of full pallets (featuring more than 3,800+ pouches) on Instagram that, through a strategic partnership with Walmart, fans could purchase on Walmart.com and have delivered right to their door. The team also delivered a personalized pallet to Barstool Sports HQ, a key media outlet that fueled much of the initial rumor – and captured that content for social media.
Once live, the team focused on two main tactics in order to achieve the program’s main goal of setting the record straight that Capri Sun was in fact not discontinuing the beloved pouches.
First was correcting the false narrative about the future of the pouches being shared online by reporters. This type of coverage was mounting and the brand was juggling inbound comment requests from reporters at People, The Associated Press, Fast Company and more. Once the “Pouch Pallet” was live, the team strategically reached out to every reporter that covered the rumor to ensure they had Capri Sun’s official response and accurate information about the “Pouch Pallet.”
Second was driving press coverage for the “Pouch Pallet” and shifting the media's attention that way. The team conducted widespread outreach to consumer lifestyle media beyond those who covered the initial rumor, simultaneously generating awareness for the “Pouch Pallet” and reassuring fans the pouch was here to stay. Coupled with Instagram and TikTok posts on the brand’s channels, the team spread the CTA by driving fans to the live Walmart.com link to purchase the pallet.
The “Pouch Pallet” story generated over 1B+ impressions and 307 placements across online and broadcast media featuring the brand’s official response to the rumor. 66 of those stories originally covered the rumor and the team got reporters to correctly update.
On social, the brand’s announcement garnered the following results:
Instagram:
TikTok:
Following the TikTok post going live, Capri Sun experienced record-breaking follower growth with 115K new followers in just one weekend. The sentiment on social media was overwhelmingly positive— fans were excited the pouch was staying and there was even demand for more pallets! Examples of fan comments include:
Once live, the limited run of “Pouch Pallets” sold out in under 2 hours. The brand saw:
