Power Crunch, the crispy wafer protein bar brand acquired by Ferrero Group in 2025, is hitting c-store shelves with refreshed packaging, a refined formula, and a new campaign — A Lighter Way to Protein™ — as the brand bids to carve out more space in a crowded better-for-you snack set.
The updated bars deliver 12–14 grams of protein per bar across five flavors: peanut butter fudge, chocolate mint, strawberry crème, French vanilla crème, and triple chocolate. The formula retains the brand's signature airy wafer layers and creamy filling with no sugar alcohols, a spec sheet designed to distance Power Crunch from the dense, chewy bars that dominate much of the protein segment. Rollout is underway at retailers nationwide.
The Channel Opportunity
For c-store operators, the relaunch lands at a useful moment. The protein snack segment has been one of the more reliable traffic drivers in the packaged-snack cooler and ambient snack aisle alike, with shoppers increasingly trading away from candy and conventional snack bars toward higher-protein options. The mid-afternoon daypart — broadly the 2–4 p.m. window when energy flags — is exactly where convenience retail competes hardest for impulse stops, and a lighter-texture bar at an accessible price point fits the grab-and-go occasion better than a meal-replacement brick.
Daniel Cutchin, General Manager of Power Crunch at Ferrero USA, framed the fall timing as deliberate. "Fall is often a season of fresh starts and new routines, making it the perfect moment to reintroduce Power Crunch to consumers," he said. "A protein snack that feels light, flavorful and easy to reach for any time of day" was the brief, he added.
Ferrero's Scale Behind the SKU
The relaunch is the first major brand expression of Power Crunch since Ferrero completed its acquisition in 2025, giving the brand access to Ferrero's North American distribution network — 15 plants and warehouses across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. For a brand that had competed as an independent challenger, that logistics footprint could meaningfully expand its c-store door count, particularly with single-store operators and regional chains that deal through broadline distributors already servicing Ferrero's Butterfinger, CRUNCH, and Keebler lines.
The broader Power Crunch portfolio includes an Original line in 14 flavors (12–14g protein), Power Crunch KIDS, and Power Crunch PRO at 20 grams of protein in three flavors. Operators building a tiered protein bar set — entry, mid, and performance — have a single-vendor argument for giving the brand more facings.
For c-stores evaluating the snack bar planogram reset heading into Q4, the combination of a recognizable wafer format, no sugar alcohols, and Ferrero's supply-chain muscle makes Power Crunch worth a slot count conversation with your DSD or broadline rep. Coverage of how better-for-you snack trends are reshaping the /better-for-you-snacks/c-store-snack-set-strategy and the /foodservice/protein-daypart-trends at convenience continues to be a growth story operators should be tracking.
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.
