The Collection
Conagra Brands is shipping Peanuts-licensed product under two of its highest-velocity ambient brands this month, giving c-store bakery and hot-beverage sets a licensed-character play heading into the fourth quarter. The limited-edition lineup spans six Duncan Hines baking mixes and four Swiss Miss hot cocoa formats, with suggested retail prices ranging from $1.79 for single-serve ornament packs to $9.99 for a giftable four-flavor cocoa box set.
On the Duncan Hines side, the six SKUs cover formats that move reliably in grab-and-go and impulse-purchase footprints: a Charlie Brown-themed blondie bar mix, a Snoopy crinkle chocolate cookie mix, a Great Pumpkin Bundt cake and glaze kit, a Snoopy Skate yellow cupcake mix, a Peppermint Patty peppermint brownie mix, and a Lucy Snowball Cookie Kit that yields 24 powdered-sugar cookies. Suggested retail runs $2.49 to $5.49. The full Duncan Hines assortment is slated to remain on shelf through the end of the holiday season, with additional seasonal SKUs expected in 2027.
Hot Cocoa Angle
The Swiss Miss component is structured around gift and collectible formats — a natural fit for the checkout counter and endcap displays that convenience operators lean on during November and December. The four-flavor cocoa box set ($9.99) includes milk chocolate, marshmallow, peppermint, and dark chocolate varieties, each tied to a specific Peanuts character. A collectible milk chocolate tin at $5.99 and single-serve cocoa ornaments at $1.79 round out the assortment alongside a returning six-pack peppermint cocoa carton at $3.29 in Peanuts-themed packaging.
For c-store operators, the dispensed-beverage and hot-cocoa category has held up as a high-margin impulse driver through Q4, particularly in markets where fuel-stop dwell times increase with cold weather. Packaged hot cocoa gift sets occupy a different planogram position — closer to seasonal candy and gifting — but the Swiss Miss ornament SKU in particular lends itself to checkout-lane impulse placement at a sub-$2 price point.
Why It Matters for Operators
Licensed-character seasonal sets have become a reliable mechanism for CPG suppliers to drive incremental ring at retail without deep discounting. The Peanuts franchise, which recently marked its 75th anniversary, carries multigenerational recognition that translates well across the age spread of c-store shoppers. Erik Sword, VP and GM at Conagra Brands, noted that the collection is designed for baking occasions and "cozy cocoa breaks" — language that maps to at-home consumption, but the gifting formats are directly competitive with the seasonal packaged-goods sets that chains like Casey's and Wawa stock near the register during the holiday stretch.
Conagra generated nearly $12 billion in net sales in fiscal 2025, giving it the distribution muscle to push seasonal programs into a broad channel mix that includes grocery, mass, and convenience. Buyers considering the collection for holiday resets should note the tiered price architecture: the $1.79 ornament and $3.29 peppermint six-pack both fall under the $5 impulse threshold that c-store foodservice and packaged-goods planners typically target for checkout-adjacent placement.
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.
