Product showcase 2020: Jacob’s gets spicy, Doritos gets ‘canned’ and Uplift gets gut happy
Kicking up the spice
pladis is scaling up the heat of the bagged snacks category with the launch of Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Mexican flavours.
The McVitie’s maker is adding Lime & Chilli, Nacho Cheese & Jalapeno and Chipotle Chicken Wings to the lineup of its £68.4m brand.
“Our core range of Jacob’s Mini Cheddars includes Original, Red Leicester, and BBQ flavours, which remain incredibly popular with shoppers and have helped the brand reinforce its position as a store-cupboard staple for 35% of UK households ,” said Christopher Owen, marketing controller of pladis UK&I.
“And to help us to broaden the appeal of the brand even further – especially among younger consumers – we’ve taken it on a trip around the world … [and] with 41% of consumers between 16-44 actively seeking spicy foods, it felt only right for Mexico to be the next stop.”
The new range – packed in brightly coloured packs to pop from the shelves – will be available in multipacks (6 x 25g packs) for an RRP of £1.89 across major grocery retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Co-op from late April.
All pladis’ plastic wrappers in the UK & Ireland can be recycled through its partnership with TerraCycle. Consumers can find their nearest drop-off point at TerraCycle.co.uk
In the tin
PepsiCo is launching Doritos Stax – a triangular tube of its popular tortilla chip, available in four flavours: Ultimate Cheese, Sour Cream & Onion, Mexican Chilli Salsa and Flaming Chicken Wings.
According to the snack giant, the tube-snack segment needs some ‘much-needed excitement’ and the 170g Doritos canister will ‘give shoppers the chance to try something a little less ordinary’.
The launch will be supported by a TV, out-of-home and digital advertising campaign, as well as partnerships with social media influencers in order to hit its target audience of Gen Z consumers.
“Historically, cannister snacks is a segment that is shopped by the over 45s, but we want to extend that by targeting a younger audience,” said Clafoutie Sintive, marketing director for snacks at PepsiCo.
“We know that Doritos appeals to generation Z, a generation that notoriously looks for brands that challenge the status quo, so we’re confident that the launch of Doritos Stax, coupled with our bold flavour choices and the innovative packaging, will bring younger shoppers to this segment.”
The trio will be available from Tesco stores across the UK from late April, as well as online, each with a RRP of £2.50.
Home delivery
Handmade cake specialist Lola’s Cupcakes has launched a grocery delivery service to help those in need of vital food supplies during the coronavirus lockdown.
Customers can place an order on its website for a range of fruit, veggies, eggs and dairy products to be delivered straight to their door.
“We source our fruit direct from London’s markets early every morning for our bakery with our own dedicated team,” said Asher Budwig, MD of Lola’s Cupcakes.
“Our experience in buying will ensure you receive the freshest and highest quality produce within a few hours of us picking from the market. The produce is super fresh, as the trucks arrive from farms during the evening into the market and within hours, the produce is ready to be purchased by our buying team.
“We offer individual items such as punnets of strawberries or bags of carrots, as well as a fruit and vegetable selection box that could sustain a household for a good period of time.”
The North West London bakery chain is also offering a selection box that can be gifted to those in need – such as the elderly – accompanied with a personalised gift note.
And don’t forget Lola’s handmade treats – more than 10,000 cupcakes and 2,000 large cakes are baked every week for 364 days a year. Lola’s Cupcakes currently operate 25 retail sites as well as busy online store offering UK-wide delivery for a range of baked items.
Celebrating evolution
UK brioche burger bun brand St Pierre has been given a dynamic brand refresh to coincide with its launch into the multiple grocery channel with a national roll out in Tesco Supermarkets and Tesco Express stores from May.
The new look reinforces St Pierre’s rich Parisian heritage, which is at the heart of the brand. It retains its signature orange colour of the brand and introduces an Art Nouveau style script for maximum stand out on shelf.
“Like all dynamic brands, the time comes when evolution is required,” said Paul Baker, founder of St Pierre Groupe.
“While we realise that this refresh and launch into the multiples comes at a challenging time for both the industry and the wider world, with rebranded packs heading into stores from May we felt the time was right to share our news.
“Although these are difficult and unprecedented times, we feel fortunate to be able to provide more households with quality bread and bakery products at a time when demand is so high. We believe that while consumers are looking to buy comforting staple foods, it is also important to continue to offer them foods, like St Pierre, that allow them to elevate their everyday meals easily.”
St Pierre Groupe is a market leader in the bakery sector, with products sold in more than 35,000 stores worldwide under the brands St Pierre, Baker Street and Paul Hollywood.
A whole gut happier
Uplift Food – founded by media nutrition expert Kara Landau – has launched a range of prebiotic Gut Happy Cookies.
The vegan and gluten-free cookies are made with 100% plant-based, fibre-dense, resistant starches and four prebiotic-rich ingredients, including lupin beans, tigernuts, tapioca fibre and kiwi fruit, to support digestion and promote immune health.
They also pack a hefty dose of powerful probiotics – one billion CFU Ganeden BC 30 – to promote the growth of good lactobacillus bacteria, as well as the production of the short-chain fatty acid, butyrate, which is known to reduce inflammation in the body.
Available in Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate + Coconut; Sunflower Butter with Vanilla + Chia; and Salted Almond Butter with Vanilla + Hemp Seeds, each variety contains less than a teaspoon of sugar, is made without artificial ingredients or sugar alcohols, and contains fewer than 160 calories per serving.
Gut Happy Cookies are available online for a RRP of $2.92 and for $3.00 for a 1.41oz pack in retail.
Uplift Food supports the production of certified sustainable palm oil and is an RSPO association associate member.
A mightier bite of the market
Suffolk seed producer Munchy Seeds is celebrating a deal to supply supermarket chain, Waitrose.
The new contract will see Munchy Seeds’ 125g packs of Honey Roasted, Mega Omega and Mild Chilli seed mixes heading to 120 Waitrose stores across the UK from the beginning of May.
“We are so delighted to have signed this deal to supply Waitrose as it gives consumers from all over the country the chance to get their hands on our nutrition and flavour-packed snacks,” said Lucinda Clay, co-founder of Munchy Seeds.
“This is obviously a very tough time for small businesses, so it’s fantastic to have something positive to shout about and for a Suffolk artisan business such as ourselves to get national support from such a reputable retailer as Waitrose.”
Already available in Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Ocado, the latest listing will help the brand on its mission to shake up the better-for-you snacking sector.
Munchy Seeds come in six variants – Sweet Chilli, Salted Caramel, Warm Cinnamon, Mega Omega, Mild Chilli and Honey Roasted – available in 25g snack packs (RRP 80p), 125g sharing packs (RRP £2.99) and 450g mega packs (RRP £8.75).
Deli delights
Raybern’s – known for its authentic deli-style Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches – has launched its first-ever line of heat-and-eat deli sandwiches designed for times of the day.
Created for the deli section and ready-to-heat counters in grocery stores, its breakfast line includes a Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwich and an Egg, Bacon & Cheese Sandwich, on either a hoagie roll or biscuit.
For lunch and dinner, there’s the traditional fan favourites, such as Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Roast Beef & Cheddar, Pastrami & Cheese, Southwest Steak, BBQ Pulled Pork, and Ham & Swiss on a pretzel roll.
Raybern’s sandwiches use bread that is ‘Bakery Soft’ straight from the microwave.
The line will be available for an RRP of $3.49 per sandwich in selected retail outlets across the US from June 2020.
