The chief executive officer of PepsiCo Inc.’s Sabra Dipping Co. venture recently approved its first national U.S. hummus television commercials. One instructs consumers to “dip life to the fullest” by dunking carrots and chicken wings into the mashed chickpea concoction. Sabra soon will kick off as the National Football League’s official dips sponsor.
While the goal is to make a Middle Eastern dip comprehensible to middle America, Zohar faces a lot of work to make it a regular part of Super Bowl parties and Fourth of July celebrations. Salsa sales are more than double those of flavored spreads like hummus. Still, those spreads are growing at a 14 percent pace as Sabra and its main competitors, Nestle SA (NESN)’s part-owned Tribe and Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT) (KRFT).’s Athenos, appeal to Americans’ desire to eat healthier.
“Most of the people in the U.S. never tasted hummus,” the Israeli-born Zohar said. “You have to change their mindset that even if the name is strange and the brown color of the hummus is not as appetizing, it tastes wonderful.”
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