Willpower Weekly: Issue No. 12

A lot has been moving in the brand world these past few weeks, bold swings that went viral, collabs that made perfect sense, packaging refreshes trying to look healthier than they are, and trend-chasing launches that definitely missed their window. We pulled the most interesting ones and turned them into a marketer’s playbook: part inspiration, part cautionary tale, all based on what’s actually happening right now.

Next week, we’re closing out the year the way it deserves, at The Falling Leaves, the forest oasis where we hosted our first real CPG holiday party back in 2023. It was one of those nights that made us realize Willpower had a real home in this space, so bringing it back feels very full circle.

P.S. if you were there for the 2023 one, let us know. We are curious to see who has been there through all the Willpower iterations.

Expect a full vendor village, a packed gifting suite, VIP Willpower holiday totes, Huckberry handing out beanies, great food, live music, and the energy that made this community what it is.

The experience includes Holiday Mocktails from Avro, a Cold & Hot Chocolate Bar by Fasted Athlete and Noble, Chips & Salsa Sampling by Rosa Salsa and MASA chips, gifting from favorites like David Protein, Supergut, Everyday Dose, and even some special awards for members of our community with prizes. 🏆

Check out the full details on our event page.

We’d love to celebrate the end of 2025 with the people who helped us build it.

RSVP Here

This year, we’re also partnering with Keep Austin Fed to give back. If you’d like to donate product, from your brand or general grocery items, you can fill out this form or simply bring items day-of.

Lastly, we have very few spots left to get involved. If you want to join as a vendor, add to the gifting suite, sponsor a moment, or something else, you can fill out this form, and someone from our team will reach out to you.

The last few weeks have been a masterclass in what actually captures attention today. The leaps that land, the timing that matters, and the moments you can’t fake. We broke down five of the most telling examples below and what they reveal about marketing right now.

Technically this isn’t CPG, but the Marty Supreme promo was too good of a case study to ignore. Timothee Chalamet’s team dropped an 18-minute Zoom-call fever dream where he plays the “star client” hijacking a mock agency meeting. He pitches ideas like painting the Statue of Liberty orange, dropping ping-pong balls from blimps, and putting the character on cereal boxes.

The best part? It has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. And somehow that’s why it worked.

They even nailed the micro-awkwardness of real agency calls, the screen-sharing fumbles, the silence while someone “finds the deck,” and the video titled a file name that looks ripped straight from a shared drive: Timothee_Chalamet_internal_brand_marketing_meeting_MartySupreme_11.08.2025.

The clip went instantly viral because it captured the exact chaos of corporate marketing culture and big-name client delusion. If you work in marketing, you’ve either been the person pitching something unhinged or the person quietly questioning your life choices while someone else does. And that’s the genius: more people will watch this campaign than the film it’s promoting… which, is its own kind of success.

Owala and Diet Coke both have fanbases that treat their brands like personality traits, so this collab lands in a very obvious, very fun way. The two released a limited-edition line designed specifically for Diet Coke loyalists who want their hydration gear to match their identity.

There are only a couple of SKUs in the collection, which makes the drop feel intentional rather than overdone. And because both brands have active cult-like followings behind them, the product basically markets itself.

Diet Coke drinkers are consistent to the point of identity, it’s the only thing they order. And the water-bottle world isn’t any calmer; new colorways sell out instantly and have caused near-riot scenes in stores. So putting these two extremely loyal fandoms into one product was always going to land. The collab has already shown up on resale sites like StockX, for more than double the price, which tells you everything you need to know.

A good reminder that when two brands with extremely loyal followings pair up, you don’t need a big campaign, the audience does the heavy lifting.

Hershey just announced a limited-run “Dubai chocolate” bar, a Gopuff-exclusive with only 10,000 units, dropping December 4th, and framed it as proof of their ability to “quickly innovate and respond to trends.”

But the timing tells a different story: this trend peaked almost two years ago.

Dubai-style chocolate had its viral run in late 2023 and early 2024. It dominated TikTok, duty-free hauls, dessert menus, and a wave of recreated recipes. And even Lindt, a massive, slow-moving chocolate brand, released their version back in December 2024, a full year before Hershey’s drop.

Launching now, in December 2025, puts Hershey at the far right of the Trend Lifecycle (see below) not in the “trending” or “on trend” phase, but deep in Trending Down territory.

This isn’t a knock on the product or the Gopuff partnership. Those make sense.

The issue is timing, and it’s where large corporations consistently lose. Long development cycles and slow approvals mean they show up after the cultural moment has already passed.

Here’s the real lesson:

If you can’t enter a trend early enough to matter, it’s usually better to skip it entirely and redirect that energy toward spotting the next emerging signal, the things that are still in the “third time you notice it” phase.

That’s where the real opportunity is.

Not in chasing last year’s moment.

Every time Graza expands into a new product line, it’s never linear, but it always feels strangely seamless. Olive oil to hummus, to a canned olive-oil martini, to Fishwife collabs, to Alec’s pistachio ice cream… none of these things technically make sense together, yet they all do.

It’s like the brand built an entire universe around a very specific character, the late-20s/early-30s city person who works a lot, hosts casually but beautifully, and treats small luxuries like rituals. Whether that’s intentional or not, the product strategy feels built for them: elevated but approachable, fun without trying too hard, and very “I’ll bring something cool to dinner.”

Their new wine with Mysa slides right into that world. It’s made with organic grapes from the Willamette Valley, fruity, a little spicy, best served chilled. Their limited edition holiday gift set builds the moment even further: the bottle, a Graza corkscrew, Sizzle + Drizzle olive oils, and their olive-oil potato chips. Basically, a ready-made dinner-party starter kit.

It taps directly into the rise of “romantic hosting,” where people are putting more intention into small gatherings, tablescapes, and cooking for friends. Graza created something that fits that ritual perfectly, design-forward, fun, and actually useful.

A solid example of how CPG brands can play in lifestyle without forcing it, and how to make gifting feel personal instead of gimmicky.

Cheetos and Doritos just rolled out their new NKD Line, and while the stripped-back packaging looks modern, healthy, and very 2025, the ingredient list… mostly stayed the same. The artificial dyes are gone and a few of the bigger additives disappeared, but the core formula is unchanged: corn, seed oils, maltodextrin, whey, natural flavors, acids, sugars, all still there.

In a world where tallow-fried chips, avocado-oil bases, and short, transparent ingredient lists are on the rise, this move feels less like a true reformulation and more like health-adjacent rebranding. The packaging is doing most of the heavy lifting here, cleaner on the outside, not wildly different on the inside. A reminder that sometimes the “better-for-you” is really just “better-for-marketing.”

Katrín Davíðsdóttir and Annie Thorisdottir, two of the biggest names in CrossFit, just launched, a collagen-based energy drink built around how they actually train, recover, and move through real life.

The formula is intentionally simple: Icelandic marine collagen (Type I), light natural flavors, and 105mg of green-tea–derived caffeine for a steady, clean lift. No artificial sweeteners, no heavy stimulants, just functional ingredients with a purpose. Think collagen that’s wild-caught, naturally low in heavy metals, and designed to actually absorb, paired with glycine, methylated Bs, and acerola cherry to support energy, recovery, and collagen synthesis.

The brand just debuted December 1st, but you won’t have to wait to get your hands on it, dóttir will be available to try next week at the Willpower Holiday Party.

Everyone I know uses ChatGPT for everything, meal prep, “what do I make with the random stuff in my fridge,” half-therapy, half-decision-making, all of it. So Target building ChatGPT directly into its shopping experience feels less like a tech stunt and more like meeting people exactly where they already are.

The new feature lets you build full grocery baskets through a simple prompt, fresh foods, multi-item carts, weeknight dinners, and then check out right inside the chat. It basically turns the “what should I make?” conversation into a one-step path to purchase.

And there’s a bigger opportunity here: Target now has a playground to get really creative with how it shows up in those prompts. Think themed baskets, seasonal recipes, restaurant-inspired meal kits, “make this for under $20,” or even CPG-specific discovery moments. It’s easy to imagine this becoming a marketing channel in itself.

For now, it’s a smart move that mirrors real behavior. People are already asking the internet to solve their dinner problems, Target is just positioning itself as the place that answers.

Live Nation just announced a multi-year partnership, including an equity investment, with Hiyo, that lines up perfectly with how people are drinking in 2025. Their data shows that 6 in 10 concertgoers alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at live events, a major shift in behavior.

For years, the “non-alc” option at venues was basically Liquid Death, bottled water, or soda. It signaled I’m not drinking, but didn’t offer anything functional or mood-lifting in return.

Hiyo fills that gap. Their social tonics are made with adaptogens and nootropics designed to create a light, feel-good buzz without alcohol, calm energy, elevated mood, no crash. It gives people something to sip that matches the moment instead of pulling them out of it.

It’s a smart move for both sides: Live Nation meets real cultural demand, and Hiyo becomes the non-alc option people actually want at shows instead of the one they settle for.