The Partnership
Flipz, the pladis-owned chocolate-covered pretzel brand, is rolling out a limited-edition Pumpkin Spice Donut-Flavored Covered Pretzel developed in collaboration with Dunkin', the Inspire Brands-operated coffee-and-donuts chain with more than 14,200 locations globally. The SKU is available through October 2026 at seven named retail banners and marks the brand's first co-branded seasonal launch with Dunkin'.
Retail Footprint
Distribution spans CVS, Wakefern, Kroger, Five Below, Albertsons, Dollar General, and Stop & Shop — a mix of drug, mass-value, grocery, and convenience-adjacent formats that gives the product broad household reach ahead of the autumn snacking season. The pretzel is coated with pumpkin, warming spices, and cake-donut flavoring, mirroring the taste profile of Dunkin's Pumpkin Cake Donut, a returning fall menu item with strong consumer recognition.
Why It Matters
The launch illustrates a well-established playbook in packaged snacks: licensing a foodservice brand's seasonal equity to drive impulse purchases in the retail snack aisle. Pumpkin spice remains among the highest-velocity limited-time-offer flavor platforms in food and beverage, generating consumer anticipation that brands can convert into retail velocity with relatively low product-development lift. For pladis, which also owns McVitie's, GODIVA, and Turtles, the Dunkin' co-brand gives Flipz — historically a sweet-and-salty staple — a pop-culture hook that extends beyond its core chocolate-covered pretzel positioning.
"Pumpkin spice has evolved from a seasonal trend to a cultural phenomenon," said Shivani Arora, Marketing Director at pladis Americas. "By partnering with Dunkin', we're bringing together two fan-favorite brands to give consumers a new way to enjoy one of fall's most celebratory flavors."
Brian Gilbert, Vice President of Retail Business Development at Inspire Brands, framed the deal as an extension of Dunkin's seasonal program beyond its own restaurant walls. The agreement allows Inspire Brands to monetize the Dunkin' trademark in the packaged-goods channel without incremental operational complexity — a model that has been used successfully by other foodservice operators seeking off-premise revenue streams. For context on how licensed-flavor partnerships are reshaping the better-for-you snack category, as well as the broader seasonal LTO strategy in consumer packaged goods, trade buyers are increasingly rewarding co-branded SKUs with favorable shelf placement during high-traffic fall resets.
The product is on shelf now through October, positioning it squarely within the back-to-school and early-holiday purchase window that snack brands compete aggressively to capture.
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.
