What's new on shelf: Clean meat sticks, chocolate dip snacks, allergen-free baking mixes and organic toddler treats
Making an impact
Utz Quality Foods – the Official Salty Snack of Major League Baseball – has rolled out of limited edition Original and Ripple Potato Chip packs as part of its multi-faceted sponsorship agreement.
The packages of the 7.75oz Original, 9.5oz Original and 9.5 oz Ripple Potato Chips highlight all 30 MLB clubs.
According to the US snack producer, MLB is the most historic professional sports league in the US and is committed to making an impact in all communities across the US, Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating sport’s larger role in society. MLB currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing program in American professional sports.
This means that Utz is not only supporting one of America’s most popular pastimes, but also aligning its mission to create a better world for all.
“Utz is excited to open the 2019 baseball season with these specially-marked, limited-edition Utz potato chip packages,” said Tom Flocco, president and chief operating officer of Utz. “[It’s] a winning combination, steeped in quality, tradition and family.”
Fans are invited to join in the action by leaving comments on the company’s Facebook page.
The Utz/Major League Baseball packs are available in leading retailers across the US, as well as online.
Female mascot
Kellogg’s has launched Mermaid Froot Loops for a limited time in Australia.
The Costco and Aldi exclusive has not made its way to the U.S. yet. Guess a trip to Australia is in order.
The purple, yellow and green colored cereal is ticking all the boxes – boasting a female mascot, while promising to be free of preservatives, artificial colors, and flavors.
It also claims to be ‘fortified with useful minerals and vitamins, such as vitamins C, B, calcium, and iron.’
Exclusively available from Costco and Aldi.
Allergy-friendly treats
The Safe + Fair Food Company has extended its clean label product offerings with three baking mixes that are free from the top eight allergens, as well as being gluten-free and vegan.
The easy-to-make mixes include Double Chocolate Brownie, Red Velvet Brownie and Birthday Cake Blondie, made with real, dairy-free and soy-free chocolate chips, natural color sprinkles, ancient grains and a specially crafted blend of five gluten-free flours.
Today, more than 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies, with eight food categories accounting for 90% of all allergic reactions – milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish.
“We created these mixes not only to satisfy both food allergy sufferers and sweet-lovers alike, but to bring convenient and versatile products to families across the country,” said Will Holsworth, CEO of Safe + Fair.
The new baking mixes are available online in the US in 20.6oz bags for $4.99.
The company donates 3% of its proceeds to the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University to develop cures for people with food allergies.
Love cake again
Bells of Lazonby has redesigned its flagship We Love Cake brand to further strengthen its position in the free from cake category in the UK.
The rollout is part of the company’s 4S Project to refresh the sugar content, as well as the style, shape and SRP (shelf ready packaging) of the range.
Sugar has been reduced by up to 38% to meet Public Health England’s 2020 sugar targets, while the cake slices were made into longer bars for customers to grab and go at their convenience.
“With consumer insight and data analysis, we identified three big trends coming our way – primarily sugar reduction, as well as, continued growth of the ‘lifestyle free from consumer’ and increased on-the-go consumption,” said Michael Bell, MD of Bells of Lazonby.
“This insight has driven the project forward to future proof our brand for the next five years.”
According to the company, the brand refresh is set to appeal more to lifestyle customers, which make up around 70% of the total free from market.
A new addition to the range is the Brookie – a twist on two mainstream classics (a brownie and a cookie) – that is gluten, wheat and milk free.
Available from UK wholesalers, including Bidfood & Brakes.
Organic snacks for tots
Goat milk infant formula manufacturer Bubs Australia has entered a new category with the launch of toddler snacks.
The eight-strong range is based on organic vegetables, fruits, ancient grains and nutrient dense superfoods, suitable for children aged one-to-five years of age.
The product range has been fully certified by the Australian Certified Organic (ACO).
The snacks include cereal bars, mini breadsticks and wafers, which come in single-serve packaging, a format that CEO Kristy Carr says grew 26% in the past year.
“We are confident that, in themselves, these new innovative products could generate several millions of dollars of additional domestic sales for Bubs in this expanding category.”
The new range will be available in Coles supermarkets from the end of May and will also be sold online in China on Bubs’ Alibaba platform.
Dip ‘n run
Concord Foods has introduced a chocolate dip snack pack under its Simply Concord brand to capitalize on consumer demand for healthier on-the-go snacks.
“We’re thrilled to introduce this new chocolate dip snack pack as an ideal companion to fruit for school, work, and convenient snacking,” said Samantha McCaul, marketing manager of Concord.
The chocolate dip snack packs come in packs of six, which is expected to push sales by dipping into the trending interest for compact and convenient snacking choices. According to the company, it has already experienced ‘exponential growth of its dipping chocolate, with 400% sales increase since last year.’
It added the demand for its other fruit dips is also escalating, with a 200% increase in sales growth for its Simply Concord Caramel dip and 615% increase in its Organic Caramel within the last year.
The brand’s fruit dips does not contain high-fructose corn syrup, and are Non-GMO certified.
Bite-sized goodness
Perfect Snacks has rolled out its newest product line, Perfect Bites, a fresh-from-the-fridge, bite-sized snack made with organic peanut butter, honey, whole food protein and superfoods.
Perfect Bites offer four servings per cup, making it a shareable and portable treat for any time of day. It also offers 7g of protein and 20 superfoods in each serving, is USDA Organic, Project Verified Non-GMO and low GI.
Available in two flavors, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter, from the refrigerated section of Harris Teeter, Wegman’s, Safeway Southwest, Sprouts and Mariano’s in the US, as well as online.
“With the growth of our Perfect Bar and Perfect Kids lines, expanded distribution, and the rise of fresh snacking across the industry, our brand is at a true inflection point and primed to extend our offerings beyond bars, further filling out the fresh snacking set,” said Bill Keith, co-founder and CEO of Perfect Snacks.
Perfect Bites add to the company’s existing line of 12 peanut-, almond- and cashew-butter bars and organic kids’ snack bars, made with similar ingredients to Perfect Bar, but with the addition of gluten-free oats and eight, kid-friendly superfoods.
Country Archer Sets Sights on Emerging Clean Meat Sticks Category, Debuts New Line at Natural Products Expo West
Leading producer of delicious gourmet meat snacks leaps ahead as early leader in young, high-growth category
Big stick
Country Archer Jerky Co. is targeting a rising macro category in the meat snack aisle with the introduction of a new line of beef, pork and turkey meat sticks.
Unlike craft jerky, it claims the clean meat stick category is in its infancy and ripe for explosive growth. The producer also asserts to be the fastest growing stick brand in the top 10 of the category, growing at a rate of 375%.
“We’ve long-maintained our position as the #1 and still fastest growing jerky brand in the natural channel, and we’re now seeing a parallel in terms of early growth trajectory with clean meat sticks that we did with jerky several years ago,” said Eugene Kang, co-founder and CEO of Country Archer.
“There are literally millions of consumers looking for something better – whether watching carbs or sugar, eating keto, Whole30, paleo, or they just want a savory, high-protein snack – clean meat sticks are where it’s at.”
The meat sticks are crafted from extra-lean, USDA-inspected 100% grass-fed beef, antibiotic-free turkey or pork, and are free of nitrites, MSG, gluten, antibiotics and added hormones, available in Chorizo Beef, Maple Bacon Pork, Pineapple Port and Hatch Turkey flavors.
The sticks are also low in low in sugar – thanks to the use of naturally sweet dates.
Available in conventional, natural, mass and convenience stores across North America for a SRP of $1.99.
