What’s new on shelf? Get set for the season with an Oreo Holiday Chocolate Cookie House, Truffled Cheese & a Splash of English Sparkling Wine Kettle Chips and Pillsbury’s limited-edition winter sugar cookies

Naughty AND Nice

Kellogg’s is releasing an Elf on the Shelf Sugar Cookie Cereal, inspired by the smash hit children’s books that has sold more than 11 million copies since its launch in 2005.

The story is about a Scout Elf who spies on kids to determine if they should go on Santa’s Naughty or Nice list.

The much-loved character will also have its own float at the Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (November 28) in New York, US – for the sixth time.

The cereal comprises sugar cookie flavoured red and green star pieces, mini marshmallows and edible glitter, and will be exclusively available from Walmart from early November for an RRP of $3.64. The 12.2oz box also features a Mrs Claus’ Sweet Shop cartoon on the back.

The retail giant will also be stocking Elf on the Shelf Cakebites – alternating layers of red and green vanilla cake coated in vanilla icing and festive sprinkles. Also available in Hot Cocoa – chocolate and marshmallow cake coated in chocolate icing and snowball sprinkles.

Each cake contains 90 calories and are packed three to a pack in four grab-and-go packages per box. The box also includes a space for the ‘elf’ to pen a personalised message to kids to perhaps warn them to behave during the Christmas season.

Both flavours have an RRP of $3.48.

You’re my hero

BEPPS is adding a Salt & Vinegar variant of its black eyed pea snacks, which, according to the UK producer, was a natural product progression for the brand, offering a sharp, tangy taste profile.

BEPPS are 100% natural, vegan friendly, gluten free, packed with protein and contain no artificial additives or preservatives.

The snacks have also been reformulated to feature punchier flavours and now combine nutrient-dense black eyed peas with fava beans to make them richer in vitamin A and calcium, lower in fat and calories and higher in fibre.

BEPPS packaging sports a new front of pack celebrating the producer’s West African heritage and inspiration, while the use of two colourways creates greater stand out on shelf.

The new variant – along with the improved range – will roll out in Tesco stores across the UK on November 11 at an RRP of £0.89p for the 22g single serve and £1.79 for the 70g sharing bag.

“Black eyed peas will always be our ‘hero’ ingredient, but as our product portfolio grows, you will see us mixing in other grains, peas and pulses into our impulse snack range starting with the puffs, which now include fava beans. Watch this space,”​ said founder Eve Yankah.

Adding a touch of sweet to the savoury snack aisle

Indie Bay is rolling out Cheeky Chocolate Pretzel Bites with Benefits in Planet Organic in the UK.

According to the producer, its Cheeky Chocolate Pretzel Bites contain twice as much fibre as other chocolate pretzel brands on the market and 80% more protein than a chocolate rice cake, along with 35% less sugar than a healthy snack bar and no compromise on taste.

“We’re taking chocolate pretzels to the next level,”​ said founder Dafna Bonas.

“Beautifully baked and coated in chocolate, our new Cheeky Pretzel Bites with Benefits are a fun twist on a classic – crunchy, light, delicious and under 150 calories per portion. Thanks to ancient grains, alternative flours and wholesome seeds, the bites are naturally packed with protein and filled with fibre, so they deliver on goodness too.”​

Indie Bay’s Cheeky Chocolate Pretzel Bites with Benefits are available in milk and dark chocolate varieties, currently available from Planet Organic and a wider rollout to follow at an RRP of £1.25 for a 31g bag.

Cookie house for the holidays

Oreos is upping the ante on gingerbread houses with an Oreo Holiday Chocolate Cookie House kit.

It comes with all you need to make the popular holiday treat, including pre-baked chocolate cookie pieces, Oreo cookies, mini Oreo cookies, icing and candy decorations.

Available at select outlets in the US for an RRP of $10.

Oreos – which celebrated its 107^th​ birthday earlier this year – is the best-selling cookie in the US, and has been released in dozens of flavours, ranging from the classic to the obscure Root Beer Float.

According to maker Mondelez, 50% of Americans pull them apart and eat the filing first. Women participate in the ‘twist, lick, dunk’ ritual more than men.

Reining in winter

Pillsbury’s limited-edition winter shape sugar cookies are back on US grocery shelves.

The tiny disc-shaped dessert is available year-round in a rotating cast of characters – from pumpkins to bunnies – and now features a festive cold-weather line-up, including a reindeer, Christmas tree, snowman and an elf, inspired by Will Ferrell’s movie that came out 16 years ago.

And it’s a breeze to take them from frozen to freshly baked – just break them apart and pop in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Each pack contains 24 pre-cut and ready-to-bake cookies that are 55 calories a pop.

Available from now until the end of December at major grocery retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Ahold, Delhaize, Albertsons, Safeway, Target and Supervalu for an RRP of $2.50.

Boooo … wants to sleep?

Insomnia Cookies is getting into the Halloween spirit with the Peanut Butter Choco-Lantern cookie, which features a double dose of chocolate, creamy peanut butter chips and pumpkin sprinkles.

The Halloween-themed cookie is available from all of Insomnia Cookies’ locations around the US.

On October 31, the warm cookie delivery chain is giving away a free traditional cookie to all those who enter a store wearing a Halloween costume. Consumers are also invited to snap a selfie in-store and use the hashtag #trickortreatyoself on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat for a chance to win a $100 Insomnia Cookies gift card.

Keeping it British

Kettle Chips has partnered with Norfolk-based Winbirri Vineyard, to release Truffled Cheese & a  Splash of English Sparkling Wine Kettle Chips, following the success of the Truffled Cheese & Champagne variant rolled out last year.

“Norfolk is a proud part of our brand heritage and with most of the potatoes we use grown within 30 miles of the Kettle cook rooms, it seems like the perfect partnership,”​ said Phil Hovey, innovation chef at Kettle.

“Not only are they just down the road from us, they also produce exceptional wine, with their 2015 Bacchus recognised as the Best Single Varietal White Wine in the World by the Decanter World Wine judges.​

“The crisp, clean flavour of Winbirri’s English sparkling wine perfectly brings out the intense, rich truffle cheese seasoning and I’m thrilled to introduce this very British chip to the Kettle range.”​

The brand's new festive flavour hit shelves this month in Tesco and Asda and will roll out in Morrisons in November with an RRP of £1.99.

Gluten-free and vegan on the go

Allergy-friendly snack company Partake Foods has launched its cookies in single size packs, following the $1m in seed funding it received from rap star Jay Z and his VC company Marcy Venture Partners.

According to Denise Woodard, CEO and founder, the cookies – which are made from non-GMO ancient grains, fruits and vegetables – contain 20-30% less sugar than other gluten-free and vegan cookies on the market.

The single serve offers the perfect snack solution for lunchboxes and on-the-go consumers. Each 1oz serving is less than 150 calories and are free of the top 8 allergens. They are also gluten-free and vegan.

The single serve is available in five flavours, including Ginger Snap, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chip and Birthday Cake, for an RRP of $16.99 for 24 x 1oz packs on the company’s website.

Trick or treat

Welch's Mixed Fruit Snacks has rolled out limited edition Halloween Fruit Snacks.

The Mixed Fruit Snacks have been shaped into bats, witches, ghosts, haunted castles and pumpkins and sport a spooky house and tree on the box.

The healthy snacks – only 45 calories per pack and 7g of sugar – are perfect to hand out to trick-or-treaters. They are also gluten- and fat-free, made with real fruit.

Available in a variety of pack sizes and Halloween-themed boxes and pouches with an RRP of $4.49 for a 28-ct box and $7.99-$9.99 for an 85-ct box from Walmart, Target, Dollar General, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger and other retailers across the US/

Snuggle up

Fall is for soups and Lay’s has unveiled its cosiest potato chip flavour, Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup.

The company says that the new flavour ‘delivers a dynamic combination of tomato taste and buttery cheese with underlying creamy and toasted notes, reminiscent of one of America’s favourite homemade meals.’

The 7.75oz packs are available in stores across the US at an RRP of $3.49. But act fast — the variants is only available for a limited time.

Recently, Lay’s launched its ‘Gotta Have It’ campaign, inviting fans to upload a selfie with the new Lay’s packaging design for a chance to win free chips for a year. The company is selecting five winners each day for over a month, and the 200 winners will be gifted over 10,000 bags of free Lay’s potato chips to share.

The great pretender

PeaTos has unveiled PeaTos Crunchy Rings, along with a bold rebrand and partnership with Disney’s Lion King, in which consumers  get a free bag of PeaTos when they purchase a DVD or Blue Ray of the movie.

According to the company, it has positioned the Crunchy Rings to go directly after Frito-Lay’s Funyuns, but are made from peas instead of corn. In addition to the nutritional profile, peas are also ‘miles ahead of corn in terms of sustainability. Peas require less water, no nitrogen fertilizers, and are naturally gluten-free and non-GMO,’ it said.

Nick Desai, CEO of PeaTos, added that, while its pea-based ‘junk food’ snacks received such an ‘incredible response,’ the branding needed some work.

“Now we are firing on all cylinders,”​ he said. “We now have a package and look as bold as our crunch and flavours.”​

PeaTos are available at Kroger and its banner stores across the US and will be rolling out in Sprouts this month, in Whole Foods in 2020 and online on Amazon.

Gorgeous and gluten free, to boot

Northumbrian Fine Foods (NFF) has launched a twin-pack cookie range under its Prewett’s Gorgeously Gluten Free brand that is targeted at the out-of-home foodservice sector.

The individually wrapped two-butter cookie packs are available in three flavours –  Belgian White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies, Belgian Triple Chocolate Cookies and Stem Ginger Cookies – and supplied in cases containing 39 twin packs per case.

“Our Prewett’s Gorgeously Gluten Free cookies have been a big hit in the retail sector, and we are delighted to now be able to extend our offering to foodservice operators as well, both in the UK and Europe,”​ said Catherine Cheesman, national account manager for NFF.

NFF is part of The Biscuit International Group, a leading European manufacturer of private label sweet biscuits.