Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) is adding new partners to its already extensive roster of healthy foods partners. New national deals with General Mills' Green Giant brand and Pandol Bros., Inc. will bring Nick's leading characters to frozen and canned vegetables, and fresh grapes which will be sold at major grocery outlets nationwide beginning late summer.
Nickelodeon began licensing its most popular characters to be used on packages of fruits and vegetables in 2005 to help encourage healthier diet and lifestyle choices for kids and parents. Since the launch, the company has extended the initiative over the last three years to include many of its most popular characters on spinach, carrots, darling clementines, cherries, apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, raisins and organic edamame.
Green Giant recently showcased the new Nickelodeon SKUS for the first time, at the Food Marketing Institute Show in Chicago. The packaging features the iconic Green Giant as well as SpongeBob SquarePants on green beans, and top preschool properties, Dora the Explorer, and Diego from Go, Diego, Go!, on broccoli and corn. The packaging also includes collectible stickers featuring the Nick characters. Later in 2007, Green Giant will also begin to distribute canned corn and green beans that feature the characters on-pack.
Starting this month, Pandol Bros., will begin to distribute SpongeBob-branded packages of Mexican-harvested grapes to major grocery stores and warehouse clubs. US-grown SpongeBob SquarePants packages of seedless grapes will begin to ship in July when they come into season. Pandol has also acquired the rights to produce Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! branded product.
