The perennial envelope-pusher of the beverage-alcohol industry finally pushed just a little too far. BuzzBallz’s hot-button collaboration with Pop-Tarts is dead—and the breakfast pastry’s new-ish parent company is the one that killed it.
On Tuesday, the United States Alcohol Policy Alliance (USAPA) issued a press release announcing that Mars, Inc. had agreed to pull the plug on a partnership with The Sazerac Company that had yielded a 15% alcohol-by-volume specialty line in familiar, kid-friendly flavors of “Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon” and “Frosted S’mores.” From the release (emphasis added throughout):
Mars, Incorporated has told public health leaders that it has halted marketing of the controversial Pop-Tarts and BuzzBallz alcohol collaboration and committed that Pop-Tarts will not enter into another co-branding partnership with an alcohol company.
The commitments came during a September 25 meeting between three senior Mars executives and representatives of five public health organizations convened by the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance.
According to USAPA, the snack giant ”regrets the Pop-Tarts/BuzzBallz partnership,” which was struck prior to its acquisition of the brand’s parent company, Kellanova, in 2025. Mars did not respond to a request for comment.
Public-health watchdogs are counting it as a big win. “More than 30 organizations spoke with one voice, Mars agreed to meet with us, and company leaders took our concerns seriously,” said Tiffany Hall, USAPA Board Chair and CEO of Recover Alaska, in the release. “The public health community is often dramatically out-resourced by the alcohol industry, but when we organize and act together, we can make a difference.”
But if Pop-Tarts’ owner is remorseful about using its iconic branding to sell booze, BuzzBallz’s owner sure isn’t.
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