There are some moments when you watch a major brand make a move, and all you can say is, “Well… duh.” That’s exactly what happened when Skittles unveiled Skittles Pop’d, their new freeze-dried Skittles line, with an exclusive debut on TikTok Shop. This move wasn’t just a casual product launch; it was more like a calculated strike at a growing niche market that, until now, was ruled by small businesses making insane profits from freeze-dried Skittles on TikTok.
But let’s rewind for a second. If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok over the past year, you’ve likely seen freeze-dried Skittles pop up in your feed. What started as a quirky, high-margin trend soon morphed into a bonafide side hustle for some folks. Small entrepreneurs were buying up Skittles in bulk, freeze-drying them with little more than countertop dehydrators, and selling these crunchy treats for an impressive markup. For context, a typical bag of Skittles costs around $2, but freeze-dried versions were being sold for as much as $10 per bag on TikTok Shop. Why? Simple. Freeze-drying transforms these chewy candies into crispy, airy, flavor-packed bites that are unlike anything else on the market.
So, here’s the genius of what Skittles did: They saw the popularity and didn’t sit around. They went, “Oh, we can do this at scale, actually. We can do it better, and we can sell it cheaper.” And honestly, why wouldn’t they?
Why the TikTok Shop Launch?
Skittles decided to roll out Skittles Pop’d exclusively on TikTok Shop to tap directly into the very place where this trend was born. TikTok Shop is notorious for viral products, and freeze-dried Skittles had already cemented a cult-like following on the platform. With this move, Skittles isn’t just showing up where people already want freeze-dried Skittles; they’re staking their claim to the trend. It’s kind of like setting up a burger stand right outside a BBQ joint with a long line: you know the customers are already hungry, and you’re offering the same thing—only cheaper and faster.
The Business Model? Straight Out of Amazon’s Playbook
Here’s where it gets interesting, though. This isn’t just about Skittles making a new product. It’s about Skittles seeing a proven trend and deciding, "We’re going to own this." It’s straight out of Amazon’s playbook. If you’ve ever scrolled through Amazon and stumbled across AmazonBasics, you know exactly what I mean. Amazon has been doing this for years: they identify top-selling products, then release their own branded version at a lower price, essentially cutting out third-party sellers. It’s a brutal but effective business strategy, and one that Skittles clearly saw potential in.
With Skittles Pop’d, Mars Wrigley, the parent company behind Skittles, basically said, “Hey, we’ll make our own freeze-dried Skittles, and we’ll beat these prices. Thanks for showing us the demand.”
The DIY Freeze-Dry Craze: Small Biz Dreams Meet Corporate Reality
There’s no question that freeze-drying Skittles has been a small business goldmine. Home-based entrepreneurs invested in dehydrators and started selling these treats on TikTok Shop, capitalizing on the novelty of the product and the “homemade” charm that sells so well online. Some of them even scaled up, with multiple freeze-dry machines and dedicated packaging. TikTok users were willing to pay a premium, so these little businesses ran with it, sometimes charging five times the cost of a regular bag of Skittles.
But at the end of the day, Skittles saw the game for what it was: a highly profitable venture with low production costs. They didn’t need a million freeze-drying setups in basements across America. They already had the production capability and the brand trust. All they had to do was bring the trend in-house, and suddenly, they had a streamlined, profitable product that wouldn’t just compete with these small brands—it would outprice them and outsell them.
So, What Happens Next?
For all those home-based freeze-drying enthusiasts, this probably feels like a punch in the gut. But realistically, it’s hard to compete with a mega-brand like Skittles when they come in swinging with scale and distribution. Skittles Pop’d will inevitably reach every retail shelf, not just TikTok, bringing their freeze-dried version to the masses for far less than what small businesses can afford to offer.
For Skittles, the move isn’t just about releasing a trendy new product—it’s about capturing the demand directly, cutting out the middleman, and making freeze-dried Skittles mainstream. It’s also a reminder that the window for niche products can be shorter than we’d like. What was once a novel TikTok side hustle is now officially “big business,” and there’s no going back.
The Bottom Line
If Skittles chose violence with this launch, it’s because they know their power. Skittles Pop’d is here, and it’s not just a fun product for fans—it’s a calculated business move aimed at dominating a trend that small businesses popularized. In the world of business, trends are fair game, and Skittles is playing to win. So, next time you spot freeze-dried Skittles on TikTok Shop, remember this: when big brands step into your niche, they’re probably not there to share the space.
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