Fruit by the Foot

Fruit by the Foot is a fruit snack made by Betty Crocker.^[1] It was introduced in 1991 and is still in production.

Fruit by the Foot is very similar to Fruit Roll-Ups (also a General Mills product), in its presentation of being rolled up within itself, but differs in taste, dimension and consumption methods. The similarity in name and concept is such that many people sometimes mistakenly refer to Fruit by the Foot as "Fruit Roll-Ups" and vice versa. The snack is approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long, and has a loop at the end. Current marketing slogans include "3 Feet of Fun!" In the early 1990s, Fruit by the Foot came with stickers that kids would frequently put on their lunch boxes to show they had eaten Fruit by the Foot.

Sugar, in multiple forms, is the major ingredient of Fruit by the Foot, as it makes up 9 grams of each 21 gram serving. Of the top four ingredients in each Fruit by the Foot. 3 of them are sweeteners (corn syrup, maltodextrin, and ordinary sugar). Artificial colors and flavors are used to synthesize the various flavors that Fruit by the Foot offers; for example, the Strawberry variety contains no actual strawberries.

Fruit by the Foot contains no protein, fiber, iron, calcium, or Vitamin A.

Since the 1990s, the paper backing has been printed with games, jokes, or trivia facts - though not all flavors have it, such as 'Rippin Berry Berry', and 'Berry Tie-dye'.

Promotions

Nintendo and General Mills worked together on a promotional campaign that appeared in early 1999. A television advertising campaign cost $5 million. The advertisement by Saatchi began on January 25 and encouraged children to buy Fruit by the Foot snacks for tips to help them with their Nintendo 64 games. Ninety different tips were available, with three variations of thirty tips each.^[2]

References

1. "Fruit Snacks". General Mills. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
2. "Promotions: Mills Gets Foot Up with Nintendo Link-up." BRANDWEEK formerly Adweek Marketing Week. (January 18, 1999 ): 277 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date. Retrieved 2013/07/24.