King's Hawaiian is using a nostalgia-driven content campaign — not a traditional trade promotion — to introduce Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites, now available at major grocery retailers nationwide. The family-owned bakery brand partnered with Taylor Hanson of the pop-rock trio Hanson to reinterpret the group's 1997 hit "MMMBop" as "MMMBites," timing the release ahead of the song's 30th anniversary. The campaign, built by agencies Alison Brod Marketing & Communications and Erich & Kallman, signals how legacy food brands are leaning on cultural IP and earned media hooks to compete for snack-aisle attention without defaulting to coupon-heavy trade budgets.

The Portfolio Play

King's Hawaiian introduced Soft Pretzel Bites in 2024, and Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites represent the brand's second move into the ambient snacking category. Raouf Moussa, Chief Marketing Officer at King's Hawaiian, framed the launch as a deliberate occasion expansion: "Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites are an exciting addition, bringing the King's Hawaiian experience fans know and love to an entirely new sweet occasion — morning snacking." For retail buyers and category managers, this is a brand adding a second SKU to a relatively new shelf presence, which matters for slotting conversations and promotional planning. The cinnamon bites ship in tub format, positioned for both ambient consumption and warm preparation, broadening the usage window beyond afternoon snacking.

Campaign Architecture

The "Mmoments" campaign launches with a series of humorous video spots — the first, titled "Mmondays," debuted September 7 — featuring Hanson breaking into the "MMMBites" chorus during relatable everyday friction points: Monday mornings, middle airplane seats, midday slumps. It is a classic pain-point-relief creative structure, executed with a recognizable cultural hook that lowers the cost of attention capture. For operators and brand marketers watching spend efficiency, the talent collaboration here functions as a media multiplier: Hanson's built-in fan base and the 30th-anniversary cultural moment generate press pickup and social sharing that extend paid media dollars. Nostalgia IP licensing of this kind — attaching a product launch to an anniversary milestone — is a repeatable playbook other food and beverage brands can model, particularly in the snack and bakery segments where emotional resonance drives trial.

What Operators and Buyers Should Track

This launch is instructive for foodservice suppliers and retail-brand operators thinking about their own SKU expansion timing and campaign architecture. King's Hawaiian is building a snacking sub-brand within a master brand that already holds the number-one branded roll position in the United States — a significant advantage in buyer conversations. The Bites line benefits from that equity transfer without requiring the brand to establish credibility from scratch. For smaller food brands, the takeaway is that occasion specificity (morning snacking, in this case) and a clearly defined retail presence are table stakes before committing to a campaign of this scale. Brands entering or expanding in the snack set should also note that video-first, talent-anchored campaigns are increasingly the default launch vehicle for products targeting 25–45-year-old grocery shoppers — a cohort that grew up with Hanson and responds to that kind of cultural callback.

For more on how food brands are structuring retail launch campaigns, see our coverage of retail-readiness strategies for CPG brands and snack category trends operators are watching.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.