NPD showcase 2021: From mince pie flavoured cereal to grabbable, munchable, mashable finger food for teeny tots

Festive fix

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without mince pies and this year, Kellogg’s has taken it a step further by launching Mince Pie flavoured cereal. 

Limited edition Mince Pie Flavoured Wheats is HFSS-compliant, meaning its high in fibre, low in salt and low in saturated fat – making it a guilt-free way to get your mince pie fix.

However, mince pie fans had better move quick, as only 60,000 boxes of the cereal are up for grabs and once they’re gone, they’re gone. The cereal is on shelves from Tuesday 30 November in selected Sainsbury’s stores for an RRP of £1.80.

The development of the cereal started just after Christmas last year in order to make it onto shelves in time for this festive period. Kellogg’s team kicked off the process with the joyous job of sampling a number of mince pies to find the perfect flavour.

“We tried around four different recipes before we found ‘the one’,”​ said Kirsty Smith, food designer at Kellogg’s.

“The filling in the crunchy Wheat casing is made up of sultanas, candied orange peel and a spice mix of cinnamon, ginger, all spice and nutmeg – all of which comes together perfectly to deliver that favourite mince pie taste.”​

Resetting the bar

BodyBar Protein has launched a line of clean, protein-based bars in both vegan and non-vegan options, including Apple Cinnamon, Sweet Cocoa and Chocolate Brownie.

BodyBar Protein was founded in 2021 by Ayarpi Reganyan, who struggled for years with inflammatory bowel disease (or ulcerative colitis). After doctors couldn’t find a solution to her autoimmune condition, she took her health into her own hands, first going entirely gluten-free and then eliminating processed foods and sugar from her diet. She launched BodyBar as a between-meal snack that free of ‘junky’ ingredients, additives and artificial colours and flavours that everyone can feel good about eating.

“Finding the right packaged snack to sustain me between meals was difficult as very little fit into the whole food, gluten-free diet that worked for me,”​ said Reganyan.

“Feeling inspired, I worked with experienced food scientists and nutritionists and we started experimenting with different clean, simple ingredients, flavours and proteins, and then BodyBar was born.”​

BodyBar are packed with protein and fibre, are gluten-free, and contain zero added sugar and natural flavours. Each is Certified Paleo or Paleo Friendly by the Paleo Foundation.

BodyBar Protein bars are available for $35 per 10-count box direct-to-consumer nationwide online.

Munchable baby snacks

Organix has launched a new weaning food to the baby aisle, suitable for babies aged 6 months+.

Little Ruskits are a grabbable, munchable, mashable vanilla-flavoured finger food that make an ideal first food for weaning babies. Wonderfully versatile, they can be mixed with a baby’s usual milk and served with a spoon at 6 months+, or served whole as a finger food from 8 months+.

What’s more, while they are big on taste, they are low on sugar, with 33% less sugar on average than other branded baby rusks and biscuits.

Each organic and vegetarian-friendly biscuit is portion-packed for convenience and freshness, and comes with one of five animal designs on them.

Available at Organix Online Shop, Tesco and Sainsbury’s across the UK for an RRP of £1.75 for a 10 pack.

Shaking up sweet snacking

Free-from confectionery challenger Livia’s has rolled out a range of all-natural grab-and-go cookies into Boots stores, with a further roll out in Tesco from the beginning of January, for an RRP of £1.20 for a 28g pack.

Developed in response to consumer feedback, Livia’s Biccy Bites put a twist on the beloved Dunx biscuit recipe and showcase the product in a convenient grab-and-go packet (minus the dip).

The Biccy Bites line up includes new flavours, Oat & Raisin, Salted Maple and Chocolate, made from natural, plant-based ingredients, without any additives or preservatives. The bites are also gluten and dairy free.

“This is an exciting time for Livia’s as we roll out the latest range in our exciting innovation pipeline to shake up the sweet snacking market,”​ said Livia’s founder and CEO Olivia Wollenberg.

“We have been inundated with requests to make our delicious Dunx cookies in a more accessible grab & go format. Biccy Bites is our response to this, and we are delighted to share them with new and existing consumers in three incredible new flavours.”​

Plant power

The UK’s number one sausage role brand Wall’s Pastry is bringing vegan snackers into the mix by expanding its range of microwavable slices with two new plant-based flavours.

The slices showcase flavours from around the world – including Red Thai Curry Slice and Hearty Chilli Bean Slice – and join Wall’s Pastry’s existing Mexican Chicken Fajita, Chilli Beef Burrito, Nacho Chilli Cheese, and Piri-Piri Chicken, which can be consumed both at home and on-the-go.

“With the growing demand for vegan products, we really wanted to create a new offering for our plant-based customers. Moving away from meat-eating should never mean compromising on taste, or convenience,”​ said Mike Holton, brand manager at Wall’s Pastry.

“Our microwave slices are designed to fit into busy routines and are perfect for a working from home snack, a quick office lunch or even as a tasty meal for students. We’re delighted to be expanding what is already a popular range, by bringing new products to the vegan market.”​

Red Thai Curry Slice is made with roasted sweet potatoes, red peppers and coconut in a curry sauce. It has 9.3g of protein and contains 394 calories per 180g slice. The Hearty Chilli Bean Slice is filled with kidney beans, red peppers and sweetcorn in a chilli sauce and contains 8.5g of protein, and 371 calories per 180g slice.

“After seeing the success of our existing microwave slices, we’re really excited to bring this popular range to our vegan customers and expand further into the plant-based snacking space,”​ added Holton.

“The new products will provide a meat-free alternative to our micro and traditional slices and have the flexibility to be enjoyed hot or cold - becoming a new fridge-staple for vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian consumers.” ​

Wall’s Pastry microwavable slices are available in selected Tesco stores across the UK for £1.50 per SKU.

Premium positioning

Carr’s Flour has developed a range of artisan cake mixes in five on-trend flavours: Sumptuous Salted Caramel Cake, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Heavenly Victoria Sponge, Luscious Lemon Cake and Delicious Carrot Cake.

As part of the launch, the UK flour miller has signed a year-long brand ambassador partnership with UK baking icon & TV personality Juliet Sear, with digital, print and social media activity that spans recipes, decorating tips and videos. This is Carr’s Flour’s biggest consumer partnership in its nearly 200-year history.

The cake mixes, each 425g, will be available at a RRSP of £2.49 and launch onto the Carr's online shop tomorrow.

The collection of easy-to-bake mixes is produced in the UK, made with natural flavours and designed to be embellished by the baker at home. The boxes feature QR codes that pull through to additional recipes on how to re-purpose the mix for muffins, cupcakes and traybakes.

Carr’s Flour’s retail range – including flours and bread mixes – is available in Sainsbury’s, Booths, Lakeland and Amazon and the Carr’s Online Store. The cake mixes have an RRP of £2.49 per 425g pack.

It’s a thing now

Over the years, putting butter on Pop-Tarts has morphed into cult favourite and fans can’t stop tweeting how much they love Buttered Pop-Tarts. In fact, there were almost 7k tweets about Pop-Tarts and Butter between 1 January and 23 September – that’s nearly one every hour.

Pop-Tarts is bringing the debate to spread or not to spread? into the homes of Americans with a limited edition Pop-Tarts x Butter Kit.

Created in collaboration with Banner Butter, an Atlanta-based small-batch butter maker, the range includes six slow-cultured varieties on fan-favourite Pop-Tart flavours: Honey Habanero; Sea Salt; Strawberry; Chocolate; Cinnamon, Cardamom & Ginger; and Balsamic Fig & Caramelised Onion.

Pop-Tarts x Butter Kits are exclusively available for purchase online for $25, while supplies last. However, if you miss out, don’t fret. Grab your favourite Pop-Tarts flavour and whip up your own Pop-Tarts and butter pairing at home.

“It’s thrilling to hear how passionate some Pop-Tarts fans are about topping our toaster pastries with butter – they’re taking their Pop-Tarts love to a new level,”​ said Sarah Reinecke, senior director of marketing, portable wholesome snacks at Kellogg Company.

“We wanted to deliver a crave-worthy kit that makes it even easier to toast up the sweet, salt and buttery combo of their wildest Pop-Tarts dreams, and we can’t wait to see how they mix and match with Banner Butters.”​

Andrew McBath, cofounder of Banner Butter, added, “We’re always churning up new butter flavours that deliver big on taste. When Pop-Tarts came to us asking if we’d partner with them to create the ultimate Pop-Tarts and butter pairings, we jumped at the chance. From Spicy Honey Habanero butter atop Frosted Chocolate Fudge to savoury Balsamic Fig & Caramelised Onion on Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts, we’re confident Pop-Tarts fans will see for themselves how butter makes everything better, but especially their favourite toaster pastries.”​

Taking the leap

It was a picture of two celebs fist bumping at a game, their faces covered with the Tesco and OGGS brand logos, that sparked a conversation that lead to a listing at the UK’s biggest supermarket.

Calling on the power of its fans, known as ‘Oggers’, the OGGS marketing team encouraged fans to tag Tesco in the comments and ask for OGGS products to be stocked. And it worked, with OGGS Brownie Bites and Millionaire Bites rolling out in over 500 Tesco stores, the brand’s biggest supermarket listing to date.

“This is such an important milestone for us here at OGGS,”​ said Hannah Carter, founder of OGGS. “We’re making it even easier for people to enjoy plant-based food choices that not only taste incredible but are now more accessible too. As a brand, we have a clear mission to remove unnecessary animal products from the food chain, and if we all make a small contribution through buying plant-based products where we can, it will make an enormous difference.”​

The OGGS Brownie Bites are powered by OGGS Aquafaba, the UK’s first patented liquid egg alternative, and contain only 59 calories per bite. The entire OGGS brand is plant-based and aims to be as ethical as possible, with a mission to create products that are better for the planet, animals, and people by replacing animal protein in food products for plants. Products are packaged in recycled materials that are also recyclable.

OGGS Bites come in a pack of 9 with an RRP of £2.25.