The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is rolling its annual Peppermint Bark collection back onto retail and foodservice-adjacent shelves for holiday 2026, adding two new SKUs and expanding club-channel distribution at Costco and Sam's Club — a signal that the brand is leaning into volume gifting and in-store activation as premium chocolate competes for seasonal impulse spend.
The Product Lineup
The 2026 assortment spans five items. Returning SKUs include Peppermint Bark SQUARES (4.6 oz., $7.99 SRP), Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark SQUARES (4.5 oz., $7.99 SRP), and the Peppermint Bark Assorted SQUARES and Snowmen bag (10.4 oz., $16.79 SRP). New for this season: a Peppermint Bark Sweater Gift Box (4.2 oz., $7.99), sold exclusively on Ghirardelli.com, and Peppermint Melting Wafers (10 oz., $7.49) — the latter a direct play for home bakers and small-scale catering prep. The Melting Wafers, positioned around a melt-dip-finish workflow, also carry clear crossover potential for pastry and dessert stations at independent restaurants and café operators sourcing retail-channel chocolate.
Club-channel placement adds meaningful volume: a 16.2 oz. Peppermint Bark Collection at Costco and a 16.7 oz. version at Sam's Club broaden reach for bulk buyers, including corporate gifting coordinators and hospitality operators stocking amenity programs.
Retail and In-Store Activation
Beyond packaged goods, select Ghirardelli retail stores are activating limited-time Peppermint Bark Sundaes and Peppermint Hot Cocoa — a daypart extension that keeps the brand relevant across both a.m. and p.m. snacking windows during the holiday season. The in-store LTO format mirrors tactics used widely across specialty dessert and café concepts to drive trial during high-traffic gifting periods.
"There's something special about the traditions we look forward to each year, and for so many, Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark has become one of them," said Bobby Oliver, Vice President and Head of Marketing at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company.
Why Operators Should Take Note
For foodservice operators, the Melting Wafers SKU is the most actionable product in this drop. Premium chocolate melting wafers have become a fixture in independent bakery, café, and catering supply lines, and Ghirardelli's retail-channel availability at $7.49 per 10 oz. bag positions the product within reach of small operators who source through retail or club warehouses rather than broadline distributors. As labor costs keep operators focused on speed and simplicity in scratch baking, a melt-and-dip format from a recognized premium brand carries both operational and menu-marketing value.
The broader holiday confection category continues to perform as a high-margin impulse segment. Premium chocolate brands have leaned into gifting formats and seasonal LTOs to defend average unit pricing against private-label pressure — a strategy Ghirardelli reinforces here with gift-ready packaging and exclusive e-commerce SKUs. For operators and retail buyers evaluating holiday confection programs, the club-channel expansion and new baking-oriented SKU represent the most commercially significant moves in this year's return. Full distribution is live now across participating retailers nationwide and at Ghirardelli.com.
For more coverage of seasonal LTO strategy and premium ingredient sourcing, see our reporting on holiday menu trends and chocolate and confection in foodservice.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
