Sweet heat: Rudolph Foods launches spring/summer popcorn
The snack firm launched mango habanero salsa and sweet fiesta lime Gaslamp popcorn this month across the West coast of the US, following nearly one year development.
Kathryn Amatriain, marketing and innovation manager at Rudolph Foods, said the flavors were on-trend.
“We see a lot of innovation leaning towards the sweet and heat combination, so that’s where our mango habanero is a winner, we think,” she told BakeryandSnacks.com at Snaxpo 2015.
She said the fresh flavors would appeal to moms shopping for themselves and their kids, as well as millennials.
“With our new flavors we’re developing, I think they’re intriguing and a little bit different. We’re trying to break down that boundary of what our expectations are of flavor profiles.”
Explosive popcorn growth
The US popcorn category has exploded in recent years with a raft of new entrants. Sales of ready-to-eat variants grew 25% to hit $750m in 2014, according to Rabobank data.
Asked what Rudolph’s strategy was amid this increased competition, Amatriain said: “We’re focusing on the history of our company.
“This is our 57th anniversary, so we think we just really know how to get out there and reach consumers using point of sale displays, promotions and that’s been a really good key for us.”
She said some popcorn start-ups coming onto the market had great brand messaging.
“These start-ups have really been able to engage a millennial audience. They know what that consumer wants and something that I found really intriguing is they all have a message,” she said.
Amatriain said over the past year Rudolph Foods’ push on ‘made in California’ and local messaging had proved extremely successful among consumers but also retailers.
“That’s still our main mission – local,” she said.
The two spring/summer Gaslamp flavors have been launched across California, Washington County in Oregon, Arizona and Nevada.
