Pop Secret is looking to buff up its status as a ’90s
icon — and has tapped another ’90s legend to help. Actor Melissa Joan Hart, best known for roles like “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Clarissa Explains It
All,” is now the brand’s Chief of Butter.
In its new “Spill Everything” campaign, Hart invites fans to call a good old-fashioned
hotline to share their juiciest secrets — and spills a few of her own. Megan Osowski, vice president of marketing at Our Home, which acquired the brand from Campbell’s last year, tells CPG Insider how Pop Secret is blending nostalgia, indulgence, and better-for-you cues to stay relevant.
This
interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CPG Insider: The new campaign leans hard into ’90s nostalgia. Why go there now — and why Melissa Joan
Hart?
Megan Osowski: It's been a while since Pop Secret has had a big, household-awareness media campaign.
We launched ready-to-eat Pop Secret this year and introduced new packaging and an updated visual identity for microwave popcorn. All those support key business initiatives, and we already have 97%
unaided brand awareness. We wanted to focus on the thing that makes us most special for the new campaign, and “secret” is really fun. We wanted to build on that in a way that is fresh and
fun but still goes back to our roots.
The ’90s are very in right now – people are wearing cargo pants, and there are so many entertainment reboots
happening. Melissa brings sizzle and fun. There are plenty of Easter eggs in this, too, for her fans.
CPG Insider: You’ve spent time in popcorn before, including
Conagra’s portfolio. How has the category evolved?
Osowski: So much has happened. But it’s also
very consistent. Popcorn was one of the first original snacks – Native Americans made popcorn. It’s very natural and rooted in agriculture. Ready-to-eat popcorn really took off as a
convenience and then hit a plateau in the 2010s. Microwave popcorn is still what people think of when they want a warm, tasty snack. People crave it because it’s familiar but they want a little
experimentation, too. And that’s the same in many other snack categories.
CPG Insider: Our Home is known for its
“better-for-you” positioning. How does butter-drenched popcorn fit?
Osowski: In snacking, there
are pockets of growth around better-for-you selections but also pockets of growth around indulgence. This campaign is rooted in promoting the Butter Meter, which organizes all our butter options in a
fun way. Am I looking for movie-theater levels of butter? Or something just light and salty? It adds layers of indulgence that people can choose. We play with that idea in the secrets in the campaign,
and fans can vote on just how juicy and buttery a secret is.
CPG Insider: The hotline is a clever throwback. What has the reaction been?
Osowski: We've gotten a lot of engagement, and also the quality of the secrets has been really fun. Each week, our teams review the
newest ones and vote on which ones to send back out into the world.
CPG Insider: How are you measuring success? What metrics matter most? Sales? Buzz?
Osowski: All of it. We’re looking to inject the brand back into pop culture and some of the cultural conversations. We know that when big moments happen, popcorn is generally
popping.
CPG Insider: Snack sales have softened industrywide as shoppers cut back, some to save money and some to find healthier choices.
Osowski: We
are definitely seeing the trends around value being super-important for consumers. Our Pop Secret ready-to-eat popcorn, which we just launched at Kroger, Sam’s Club and Five Below, sells for
$2.99.
For us, it’s oriented around: How can we have a really high-quality, craveable popcorn that is also a great value? And how can we do that without sacrificing the things that are
table stakes for consumers? It’s important that we’re made with non-GMO popcorn, certified gluten-free, and don’t use artificial flavors, preservatives or colors. For some people,
that can mean something lighter, and for others, it’s “Hey, I’m OK with butter. I just don’t want anything artificial.”
And
popcorn does have a bit of a health halo, compared to other snacks.