“Press Release”
QSRweb
Wetzel's Pretzels, specializing in pretzels, hot dogs and lemonade, has tapped The Culinary Edge to help create Twisted by Wetzel's — a spinoff concept designed to succeed in streetside real estate, including power center shopping areas and around college campuses. The first Twisted by Wetzel's opened last month in California's La Habra Marketplace with more units expected to launch later in 2023.
"The Culinary Edge conducted thorough research prior to creating this concept and discovered that consumers have two general associations with pretzels: the heritage-based, Bavarian beer garden image, and the timeless American association with ball games, boardwalks, movie theaters and beyond," Nikki Freihofer, strategy director at The Culinary Edge, said in a company press release.
For the concept, The Culinary Edge, a San Francisco-based food and beverage innovation consultancy that also owns the fast casual brand Starbird, developed an expanded menu of pretzel-based items and introduced soft-serve offerings, lemonades, granitas and layered beverages. Additionally, to bring the offerings to life in store, the team designed points of interaction within larger real estate lots.
"By leaning into Wetzel's Pretzels fun, West Coast identity, we were able to create a concept that helps everyone feel like a kid again, while delivering on a wider range of core occasions and needs," Freihofer said. "Twisted by Wetzel's customers can expect to see new forms and flavors, like pretzel Twistz, loaded pretzel Dogz, and even a pretzel soft serve cone."
The concept embraces the magic of the brand and elevates it to a whole new level, providing a bolder expression of Wetzel's, Wetzel's Pretzels Chief Marketing Officer Kim Freer said in the release.
"Building upon our legacy, we're reimagining how and where these twisty treats are enjoyed," she said. "By partnering with The Culinary Edge to create an innovative menu, built on freshness, we're able to deliver imaginative pretzel creations for the next generation of snack-lovers. We're proud to debut this new concept in our home state of California, bringing our vision of a Wetz Coast Wonderland to life."
Wetzel's Pretzels was founded in 1994 by Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel in Pasadena, California, and has over 370 bakeries.