HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit company, teamed up with Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ahead of its cinematic release on May 5, 2023, to bring out-of-this-world flavors and recipes to kitchens across the galaxy.
The Marvel Universe is known for its passionate, devoted, and enthusiastic fan base. HelloFresh chose to partner with Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 based on the high level of awareness and interest among the general population, as well as the ubiquity and outstanding success of the franchise. The expectation was that the partnership would generate excitement and buzz for the HelloFresh brand, boost brand awareness by tapping into the massive Guardians audience, and strengthen brand perception and affinity via the movie’s halo effect.
The partnership launched a limited-edition Guardians Snack Adventure kit and a Guardians Recipe Adventure series inspired by the film that HelloFresh customers and Guardians of the Galaxy fans could enjoy.
The Guardians Snack Adventure was a 3-week, gamified giveaway of a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3-inspired DIY snack and drink combo. Guardians fans across America could create HelloFresh versions of two tasty intergalactic snacks, Zarg Nut Bites and Mango Milky Fizz.
Each Guardians Snack Adventure kit included pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipe cards to make two servings of Zarg Nut Bites and Mango Milky Fizz at home. The Snack Adventure kit also included collectible milk cartons and a jar—complete with cosmic designs straight out of Knowhere—to keep these snacks from getting mixed up with Earthly foods when stored in the pantry or fridge.
Consumers could claim their limited-edition Guardians Snack Adventure kits on a co-branded microsite (www.HelloFreshAdvenutres.com ). The kits were made available for consumers on a first-come, first-served basis and released as 3 separate “drops” over three weeks.
In addition to the Guardians Snack Adventure kit, HelloFresh also offered six meals on the weekly menu through an exclusive Guardians Recipe Adventure series. Each recipe was themed to members of the beloved band of galactic misfits and took home cooks on a flavorful adventure.
To bring this whole campaign to life, the HelloFresh Brand team partnered with many cross-functional internal stakeholders as well as an external 3rd party vendor. The vendor designed bespoke packaging and sourced inventory for the co-branded Guardians Snack Adventure kit, while the internal team worked in parallel on developing the in-house Guardians Recipe Adventure series for the HelloFresh menu, along with the 360 campaign marketing assets. The Brand team collaborated with Marvel every step of the way to ensure that any assets featuring Guardians IP adhered to the brand guidelines of the esteemed franchise.
The success of the campaign surpassed expectations, with enthusiastic fans fully claiming each giveaway drop of the Snack Adventure kit in under a minute.
In total the campaign resulted in 1.1B total impressions, including 100 earned placements and 675M+ media impressions.
