Jell-O's college spirit growing

Jell-O is trying to wiggle its way onto the must-have lists for college students heading back to campus.

Jell-O, a Kraft Foods Group brand, on Monday announced 16 new university mold kits for making Jell-O Jigglers in the shape of school mascots or school logos. Sorry, Illinois and Northwestern fans, there aren’t kits for your schools.

The Northfield-based company started the campus tie-ins last year with four schools, including the University of Michigan. Big 10 schools added this year are Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin.

“We determined school choice by a combination of local retailer support and fan base to develop an optimal portfolio of universities across the country,” Kraft spokeswoman Lynne Galia said in an email. “We’re excited to see how these 20 perform and recognize there are many great schools to consider as we evolve our Jell-O University Mold Kit offerings in the future.”

The kits include two trays of school logo or mascot molds and boxes of Jell-O gelatin in team colors. Sold at grocery stores, mass merchandisers and Amazon.com, the kits have a suggested retail price of $5.99.

Acknowledging the molds are the right size for Jell-O shots, brand manager Emilie Fitch told AdAge.com: “We understand that this behavior might be popular among adults, … (but) the Jell-O brand does not advocate (that) behavior and we don’t promote recipes that use alcohol.”