Easter madness: Meet Iced VoVo hot cross buns

Consumers are constantly looking for the next big thing. A new product, a new flavour, a new marketing gimmick.

Coles supermarkets came up with an absolute doozy today - a range of Easter buns in limited-edition Iced VoVo and Pizza Shapes flavours.

That's right: one sweet, one savoury.

It turns out that Coles has partnered with biscuit experts Arnott’s to "spice up" its hot cross buns this Easter.

The result is limited-edition Coles Arnott’s Iced VoVo Inspired Hot Cross Buns and Coles Arnott’s Pizza Shapes Inspired Hot Cross Buns,

The new flavours will be available in stores nationwide from Monday.

Coles general manager of bakery, Kate Roff, said the supermarket was thrilled to partner with Arnott’s to create "the perfect Aussie pairing".

“Our limited-edition hot cross bun range is a wonderful example of when innovation meets quality, and we take great pride in offering our customers new and exciting products that also bring about a sense of nostalgia, which is synonymous with the Arnott’s brand.”

The limited-edition buns are the latest to roll out following the success of flavour mash-ups including fellow Aussie icon Vegemite Hot Cross Buns.

Should you be tempted (I won't be) the buns are $5 for a four-pack.

Goodbye Christmas; hello Easter: commercialism gone mad

 

It is probably not the season to be churlish. Many of us are still celebrating Christmas with family and friends. 

Yet odious marketers from the big supermarkets are already spruiking their wares for Easter. On December 27. 

A pox on them, I say. 

First off the blocks in blocks in the race to be the most crassly commercial were Coles, with a press release sent to media at 6.20am this morning about their Vegemite hot cross buns. 

Hot cross buns! 

When most of us still have Christmas and Christmas pudding left over.

But there is no hope of restraint from big business when there are big bucks to be made. 

Here is the Coles' bumpf from this morning. Make up your own minds about their greedy opportunism. 

"Coles’ award-winning hot cross buns are getting a mitey makeover this year with Coles launching a brand-new flavour combination in partnership with Bega Cheese Limited – the Vegemite Hot Cross Bun.

"Available in more than 700 Coles supermarkets nationwide from December 27 (that's today), the limited-edition combination of sweet and savoury is the latest in a series of flavour mash-ups from Coles, which has previously wowed customers with buns in Lamington, Raspberry and White Chocolate and Sticky Date and Butterscotch flavours.

"Best toasted and slathered with butter or grilled toasted sandwich style with lots of melty cheese, the soft buns are infused with Vegemite and parmesan and finished with an indulgent tasty cheese topping."

And on and on it drones with the memorably awful line: "Vegemite is one of those things that makes Australia wonderful." 

As flavour combinations go, I've heard of worse ideas. But it is December 27.

Could you not, at least, have waited until the new year?