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Do you think if CJ put in physical toy prizes again their sales would spike?

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:51 am
by edteach
I will not touch CJ today because of the lame prizes, would you buy it again or more than you do if they put in toy prizes again?

Re: Do you think if CJ put in physical toy prizes again their sales would spike?

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:08 am
by Luke
All I can say is that I'd purchase at least 10 times more Cracker Jack if they do. I think the issue of federal and state food safety laws. Do they have toys in cereal boxes anymore??? I'll have to look the next time I go shopping.

Re: Do you think if CJ put in physical toy prizes again their sales would spike?

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:17 am
by edteach
I don't think the food laws are to blame. I have heard this about cereal and then read that it was not any law but that the kids were video game nuts and did not want the plastic toys in the box. The law of no toys in food means in the food. Kinder eggs are an example. The prize is in the chocolate egg. The Kinder Joy is legal. The toy is not in the food but with the food. You can by the joy at any gas station and walmart but don't get caught bringing Kinder eggs into the country. LOL

Re: Do you think if CJ put in physical toy prizes again their sales would spike?

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:13 pm
by Jeffrey Maxwell
Toys in food is an interesting subject. The prize in Cracker Jack is not against the law. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits confectionery products which contain a “non-nutritive object”, unless the non-nutritive object has functional value (21 U.S. Code § 342 - Adulterated food). Essentially, the Act bans the sale of any confection that has embedded in it a toy or trinket. This was the problem with Kinder Surprise Egg produced worldwide by Nestle, who's toy was encased inside a plastic egg with a chocolate shell. The F.D.A. has interpreted that exception of "functional value" to apply to items like the sticks in lollypops. Boxes of Cracker Jack, which have long had small toys next to the snack, are governed by a different regulation because the toy is not imbedded in the food product, but is ''commingled.''

The big problem that Kinder Egg, and Cracker Jack as well, encountered was the choke tube test. The Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972 identified choking hazards, so that is why you haven't seen small charms or snap-togethers with small parts in Cracker Jack since then. Kinder had problems with mothers who claimed that Nestle' had designed the toys to barely beat the choke tube test. Interestingly enough, they had to come up with a different product for the USA market because of both the FDA and CPSC regulations, so the current product "Kinder Joy" has two separate compartments with candy on one side and the toy in the separate compartment on the other side of the egg shaped packaging.

I will also address the idea that kids don't respond well to in-pack toys. Well I can attest to the fact that is just not true. I lived in South America for several years, during which time I sold all sorts of food products in my convenience stores. Because there are no laws in Peru like the USA laws I mentioned above, they had a plethora of toys in many products including potato chips, gum, candy, chocolates, cereal, crackers, cookies, soft drinks, and many other products. The products with the best "sorpresas" got the best sales. Kids went crazy for these products because of the toys. Because I specialized in stocking products with prizes in my store, I had several families with children ages 8 to 12 who came into my store on Sunday afternoons to buy products and trade with me, because, of course, I was a collector too. These kids might have lost interest when they got older, but these kinds of loyalty programs work for that target audience.

Hope this helps with this discussion. Please let me know if you have questions or want more information.
Happy Collecting! Jeffrey Maxwell