Mars, Incorporated announced on April 27, 2026 that Kellanova brands, now part of Mars Snacking following Mars’s acquisition of Kellanova, have partnered with the U.S. Soccer Federation as the Official Snack of the United States Soccer Federation, launching six limited-edition snacks available at retailers nationwide in May 2026. Maggie Hoy, Omni Center of Excellence Lead at Mars Snacking, and Catherine Newman, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at U.S. Soccer, are the spokespersons. The announcement is issued by Mars, Incorporated.
The Six Products
All six are limited-time, U.S. Soccer themed versions of existing Kellanova brand products:
Cheez-It Original Flags & Stars — Classic Cheez-It Original baked with 100% real cheese, reshaped into flag and star formats. Flavor unchanged; the packaging and shape are the LTO elements.
Cheez-It Chili Cheese Dog — A new flavor variant combining chili heat, cream cheese richness, and savory hot dog flavor in the standard Cheez-It cracker format. This is a genuine new seasoning formulation, not just a shape or packaging change.
Pringles Spicy Loaded Nachos — A new flavor combining jalapeño heat, nacho cheese, cheddar, and savory spices in the standard Pringles crisp format. Also a genuine new seasoning formulation.
Pop-Tarts Star-Spangled Blueberry — A red pastry shell with blueberry filling, white icing, and red and blue sprinkles. The red pastry shell color is new; the blueberry filling is from the existing Pop-Tarts flavor library. A new color system and sprinkle inclusion are the primary formulation changes.
Rice Krispies Treats Red White & Blue Sprinkles — Standard Rice Krispies Treats with red, white, and blue sprinkle toppings added. Minimal formulation change; sprinkle inclusion is the LTO element.
Town House Star Spangled Original Crackers — Classic Town House Original crackers in a flag shape. Flavor unchanged; shape is the LTO element.
The Mars Snacking Context: Post-Kellanova Acquisition
This announcement is the first major multi-brand promotional activation we have seen from Mars Snacking since the Mars acquisition of Kellanova closed. The press release is issued by Mars, Incorporated, not Kellanova, which confirms the organizational integration is now publicly positioned. The Kellanova brand name remains but the parent company attribution has shifted to Mars.
The six brands activated here (Cheez-It, Pringles, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Town House) represent five distinct product formats across crackers, potato crisps, pastry, cereal bars, and crackers. Running a coordinated six-SKU limited-edition activation across that many formats simultaneously is only possible at the portfolio level. This is Mars Snacking demonstrating portfolio activation capability across the Kellanova acquisition in a single campaign.
The FIFA World Cup 26 timing is deliberate. The tournament runs June through July 2026 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. A May retail launch gives the products roughly two full months of shelf presence through the peak of the tournament. The U.S. Soccer Federation partnership gives Kellanova/Mars Snacking official designation rights that Lay’s (PepsiCo, FIFA official sponsor) does not have at the national team level. The two operate in parallel channels: Lay’s owns the FIFA tournament sponsorship; Kellanova/Mars owns the U.S. Soccer Federation team partnership.
Why It Matters for Seasoning, Cheese, Pastry, and Packaging Ingredient Suppliers
Kellanova’s six-SKU U.S. Soccer Federation limited-edition launch under Mars Snacking creates simultaneous promotional volume demand across real cheese inputs for Cheez-It production at the 100% real cheese specification that defines the brand’s ingredient standard, new chili and hot dog seasoning compound systems for the Cheez-It Chili Cheese Dog flavor formulation, jalapeño and nacho cheese seasoning systems for the Pringles Spicy Loaded Nachos formulation, and red pastry shell color systems and blueberry filling at the specification required for the Pop-Tarts Star-Spangled Blueberry LTO. For cheese ingredient suppliers, the Cheez-It brand’s 100% real cheese claim creates a non-negotiable specification requirement that extends across all LTO variants regardless of shape or format changes.
The Pringles Spicy Loaded Nachos formulation creates a new jalapeño and nacho cheese seasoning compound requirement within the Pringles dehydrated potato crisp platform at Mars Snacking’s manufacturing network, running in parallel with PepsiCo’s own Lay’s FIFA World Cup 26 flavor launch and confirming that jalapeño and nacho cheese seasoning systems are the most commercially active flavor category in the U.S. snack segment during the FIFA World Cup 26 promotional window. For jalapeño and cheese seasoning suppliers, the simultaneous activation of both Lay’s (PepsiCo) and Pringles (Mars) in the spicy cheese flavor direction during the same May-to-July window is the largest concurrent demand signal for that seasoning category in the snack segment this year.
The Rice Krispies Treats Red White & Blue Sprinkles and Pop-Tarts Star-Spangled Blueberry LTOs require specialty sprinkle and colored sugar confection inclusions at the food-grade color specification and quantity required for a nationwide limited-edition run across two of Kellanova’s highest-volume retail snack lines, adding confectionery color inclusion inputs to the Mars Snacking procurement program for both the pastry and bar format categories. For confectionery color system suppliers and sprinkle manufacturers, a coordinated two-SKU inclusion event at Mars Snacking’s national distribution scale represents a meaningful incremental volume program above the baseline production inputs for both product lines.
FAQs
What are the six products? Cheez-It Original Flags & Stars, Cheez-It Chili Cheese Dog, Pringles Spicy Loaded Nachos, Pop-Tarts Star-Spangled Blueberry, Rice Krispies Treats Red White & Blue Sprinkles, and Town House Star Spangled Original Crackers. All limited-time, available nationwide in May 2026.
Who is the partnership with? The U.S. Soccer Federation. Kellanova brands (under Mars Snacking) are the Official Snack of the United States Soccer Federation.
Who owns Kellanova now? Mars, Incorporated. The press release is issued by Mars, Incorporated. Kellanova brands are now part of Mars Snacking.
How big is Mars, Incorporated? A privately owned family business with $65 billion+ in annual revenue. Its snacking portfolio includes Pringles, Cheez-It, M&M’s, Snickers, and others.
When are the products available? At retailers nationwide in May 2026, in time for the FIFA World Cup 26 tournament running through summer 2026.
About Source86
Kellanova’s six-SKU U.S. Soccer Federation limited-edition launch under Mars Snacking reflects active demand for 100% real cheese inputs at the Cheez-It brand specification for both standard and LTO cracker variants, new chili, hot dog, jalapeño, and nacho cheese seasoning compound systems for LTO flavor extensions across the Cheez-It and Pringles platforms, blueberry filling systems and red pastry shell color inputs for Pop-Tarts LTO variants, confectionery sprinkle and colored sugar inclusion systems for Rice Krispies Treats and Pop-Tarts festive LTO runs, and the enriched wheat flour and cracker fat inputs supporting Town House and Cheez-It production at Mars Snacking’s national manufacturing network. At Source86, we connect snack manufacturers, CPG seasoning programs, and confectionery ingredient buyers with trusted bulk and wholesale sourcing partners for real cheese inputs, natural and artificial flavor seasoning compounds, specialty confectionery inclusions, and the ingredient sourcing infrastructure that supports multi-brand promotional LTO launches at global CPG manufacturing scale.
Whether your production team sources real cheese inputs for a cracker seasoning program, jalapeño and nacho cheese compounds for a potato crisp LTO, or colored sprinkle inclusions for a festive snack bar run, Source86 is your bridge to the right manufacturing and supply chain partners. Contact Source86 today to start your sourcing search.
