Did You Know? What "Natural" Actually Means Regarding Food Labels

As the trend in consumer habits has veered toward a preference for less artificial ingredients in food, the term "natural" has been popping up everywhere from luncheon meats to potato chips. But what exactly does "natural" mean as it pertains to food labeling in the US?

Did You Know? Explaining the "Fancy" in Ketchup

It turns out there actually is an explanation as to why some ketchup is labeled "fancy," and it has to do with USDA classification.

Neat! Coca-Cola Rigs Check-Out Stand to Play Their Tone

In a neat marketing scheme, Coca-Cola rigged the check-out stand at a Brazilian supermarket to play a familiar five-tone melody when a Coke product is scanned.

Neat! Kit Kat Has Fans Taking a Break for Nexus Tablets

Taking advantage of the partnership between Kit Kat and Google, which saw Google naming their latest version of Android, "Kit Kat," Kit Kat held a promotion in Amsterdam where participants would receive a free tablet computer by taking a break (playing on the "gimme a break" Kit Kat slogan).

Specifically, they put up ads around the cities featuring a special red bench with text stating that anyone "having a break" at a designated time on September 14 would receive a free Nexus 7 tablet.

Neat! Haagen-Daz - App Gives Concert While Ice Cream Softens

You know how sometimes when you grab your ice cream out of the fridge it can be rock hard if your freezer is too cold? Well, thanks to Haagen-Daz, there's an app for that! Sorta.

Haagen-Daz now offers a free "Concerto Timer" app for the iOS (i.e for iPhones and iPads), which plays a 2-minutes long virtual violin concerto when you run the app and point your camera at a carton of Haagen-Daz (or any other ice cream apparently). 

Neat! Totino's Turns Elevator into Microwave

In a marketing stunt to highlight the quick microwave cook time of their popular Pizza Rolls, Totino's revamped the inside of an elevator to look like the outside of a microwave oven with a microwave touch pad in lieu of elevator buttons.

Once the occupants arrived at the designated floor 60 seconds later, the doors opened to reveal a room mocked up to look like the interior of the microwave occupied by waiting Totino's employees with trays of Pizza Rolls.

Neat! Coca-Cola Ice Bottle

Translated: "Cold to the last drop."

With summer fast approaching, Coca-Cola offers the new Coke Ice Bottle to beach-goers in Colombia. It's literally a Coke bottle made of ice and filled with the bubbly drink, so you never have to worry about your drink going warm (because the bottle will melt before then!).

Neat! 7-Up Vending Machine Melts to Vend 7-Up Cans

7-Up took to Buenos Aires to unleash this little gem of a vending machine on the populace in the middle of a hot summer's day in Argentina. This carefully constructed-of-ice "melting machine" came complete with cans of 7-Up that passerbys could grab as it melted.

Fans were asked to place bets on Twitter as to when the last can would be set free with the winner receiving a free 6-pack of 7-Up. Neat, right?

News: Cap'n Crunch Gets His Own Late Night Talk Show

In the spirit of Space Ghost and the late Johnny Carson, Cap'n Crunch is getting his own late night talk show. The unique marketing move could be awesomely entertaining or supremely awful for the beloved cereal icon.

Get the Ben & Jerry's Flavor You Want

A problem that comes up for some Ben & Jerry's fans is when their local supermarket or grocer stops stocking their favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor or they just can't locate that new Limited-Batch flavor.

Since getting it shipped from elsewhere tends to be prohibitively expensive, most are just left to do without. But there is something you can try to get that Ben & Jerry's flavor you're fiending for...

Neat! Tim Hortons Unveils "The Priestley"

If you caught the last episode of How I Met Your Mother, you saw a guest spot where Jason Priestley (best known for playing Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210) describes where he was and what donut he was eating when Robin Sparkles lost it in front of a national (Canadian) audience.

In his words: "Squamish, British Columbia. Crammed a Timbit into a strawberry vanilla and called it 'The Priestley.'" You can check out a clip of the scene here at 2:00.

Neat! Coca-Cola - "Sing for Me" Vending Machine

I have to say, Coca-Cola has their vending machine marketing down pat. Some of you might remember the "Hug Me" machine they placed at a university in Singapore earlier this year. Well, this holiday season, out in Sweden, Coca-Cola put a "Sing for Me" vending machine at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden during finals time.

Neat! Starbucks Mug Makes You Think Your Vision is Going

Imagine this: you wake in the morning and walk into the kitchen still groggy-eyed and on the hunt for your morning cuppa Joe. As you reach for your mug, you have to blink several times because you see this:

Neat! Thomas English Muffins Come in Pumpkin and Cranberry

Thomas English Muffins are probably my favorite English muffins (especially with bacon and eggs), but I typically think of them as very traditional and unchanging.

I was surprised, then, to find out that they offered seasonal pumpkin spice and cranberry flavors for the holiday season.

Neat! Coke Zero - 007 Skyfall Obstacle Course in a Train Station...

First there was the Coke "Hug Me" machine and now this: unsuspecting train passengers stopping to buy a can of Coke Zero at a vending machine were prompted onscreen with an offer for a chance to win exclusive tickets for the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. All they had to do was get to Platform 6... in 70 seconds. 

Neat! Starbucks Japan Pop-Up Store Has You Ordering By Book

Starbucks Japan currently has a pop-up store (taking over an art gallery in Tokyo) where you order by grabbing a color-coded book from an expansive book shelf and take it to your barista for your drink.

Neat! You Can Get Personal Drip Coffee in U.S.

So it looks like you can get single-use personal drip coffee here in the U.S. though you can't get Starbucks brand Origami coffee (as far as I know). I spotted these boxes at a Mitsuwa Japanese supermarket. They're imported from Japan and available from Key Coffee and UCC respectively, which are two of the major players in the home coffee market in Japan.

Around the World: McDonald's Malaysia Serves Criss Cut Fries!

For a limited-time, McDonald's Malaysia is offering seasoned Criss Cut Fries, those specially-cut fries that make you think, "How do they cut it like that?" until you learn about a mandoline and demonstrations like this.

Neat! Starbucks Japan - Portable Personal Drip Coffee Brewer

In Japan, Starbucks offers an alternative to instant coffee called "Starbucks Origami Personal Drip coffee." While they have Starbucks Via as well, the Origami Personal Drip coffee is a convenient all-in-one disposable solution that brews fresh coffee anywhere as long as you have some hot water and a cup.

So how exactly does it work? Read on!

My Starbucks is Not This Retro: Duddell St. Starbucks in Hong Kong

Starbucks has this neat concept store out in Hong Kong on Duddell St. where half the store is the typical Starbucks design and the other half is crafted to look like a bing sutt (literally "ice house" or "ice chamber").

A bing sutt is a type of Hong Kong cafe/diner popularized around 1950 to 1970, highlighting the convergence of East and West. They exist to this day, though in lesser numbers, and have traditionally served Hong Kong versions of Western comfort food as well as iced drinks, coffee, and tea.