Creator-Owned CPG Turns Retail Traffic Into Participatory Marketing Event

JOYRIDE, the better-for-you candy brand co-owned by YouTuber Ryan Trahan, will crown America's first #1 candy state this Saturday during a 24-hour livestream and Guinness World Records attempt.

The 50 States Challenge culminates on "JOYRIDE Day" (June 13, 2026) with a livestream hosted by Trahan from Austin, Texas, beginning at 10:00 AM CST. The brand will attempt to set a new Guinness World Records title for "Most photos of people holding a bag of candy uploaded to Instagram within 24 hours."

Fans participate by purchasing JOYRIDE at Target, 7-Eleven, CVS, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and HEB, then posting geotagged selfies to Instagram using #JOYRIDEDay2026. Each submission counts as a point for that state. The winning state receives a limited-edition, state-inspired candy drop launching in early July.

Yearlong Competition, 50 State Captains

Following Saturday's livestream finale, the competition transitions into a yearlong race tracked at joyride50stateschallenge.com. JOYRIDE will recruit 50 State Captains—one per state—through an application process opening Saturday. Selected captains will receive personalized JOYRIDE jerseys and lead state rally efforts, with some appearing on the livestream to deliver regional updates.

Standings will be powered by independent retail sales data and weighted on a per-capita basis, the brand said, to give smaller states a competitive chance.

The livestream will feature live retailer visits, real-time reactions to fan photo submissions, on-camera check-ins with the Guinness World Records adjudicator, and a fan-activated "Wheel" triggering new challenges every 5,000 submissions.

Track Record of Fan-Powered Growth

JOYRIDE launched at 1,200 Target stores in June 2024 and became one of Target's top-two best-selling candies by early 2025. The brand set its first Guinness World Record in June 2025 with 1,733 fans uploading candy selfies in one hour.

According to Nielsen data cited in the release, JOYRIDE holds the #1-selling non-chocolate candy spot at Target as of 2025. Bain & Company named the brand a 2026 Insurgent Brand.

Summer LTO Expansion

The campaign coincides with two new summer limited-time offerings at Target: JOYRIDE Deep Sea Gummies (fish-shaped, blue raspberry and lingonberry flavors with 70% less sugar than leading brands and 5g fiber per serving) and JOYRIDE Ice Pop Sour Strips (cherry and berry with tangy kick, 80% less sugar and 8g fiber per serving). Both contain no artificial sweeteners or colors.

Why It Matters

The 50 States Challenge illustrates how creator-owned CPG brands leverage influencer audiences as distribution and marketing infrastructure. By turning retail transactions into social media moments and Guinness record attempts, JOYRIDE converts traditional point-of-sale into participatory fan engagement—effectively using community as a media channel and shelf traffic as the call to action. For operators, the model demonstrates the retail velocity potential when creator-driven campaigns align with merchandising and inventory.

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Written by FBM Publications Editors