You know what's great about something that's around for a relatively brief time frame? You don't have enough time to get sick of it.
PepsiCo
Like the mighty cicada, the existences of these offerings will hopefully be as effective as they are ephemeral. If you tell consumers that they will have only so many weeks to enjoy something, it tends to serve as an impetus of urgency, causing them to perhaps ingest more servings than they normally would have in the given period.
This strategy also puts a cap on the risk of maintaining a new brand extension. Think of how specialty sandwiches marketed at fast-food outlets such as McDonald's
Maybe a company I have a stake in, Coca-Cola
Someday all businesses will learn something from the aforementioned mighty cicada: Conceive a novel product, breed it, release it out into the wild of retail, and then allow it to die a peaceful, programmed death. Not all items are meant for eternal existence in a properly designed portfolio -- in one Fool's opinion, at least.
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Coca-Cola but none of the other companies mentioned.