Food & Beverage News: Insights, Safety, and Dining Trends
- Jel Sert and Crayola launched a kid-created Banana Mango Fla-Vor-Ice freeze pop tied to Crayola's returning Dandelion color.
- Mission Foods introduced gluten-free Chickpea Tortillas made from chickpea flour, offering higher protein and fiber, available nationwide.
- Tyson Foods released Simple Ingredient Nuggets with clean labels, 23 grams protein and no added sugar, spicy flavor coming soon.
- Consumers increasingly demand high protein, clean labels and functional ingredients like fiber or probiotics, driving new product development across brands.
Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
Fla-Vor-Ice maker, Crayola brighten freeze pop market
The maker of Fla-Vor-Ice is adding a touch of color to the frozen pop market with the help of Crayola.
The Jel Sert Company is collaborating with Crayola on a yellow colored freeze pop created entirely by kids. The Fla-Vor-Ice Banana Mango offering is tied to the return of Crayola’s Dandelion color, which was retired in 2017 but is coming back to shelves as part of a limited-edition collection.
Jel Sert turned to Wegner Elementary School, which is named after the company’s founding family, for eight students to create the new flavor. Children were presented with the Crayola color Dandelion’s persona Dan D., which served as inspiration in developing the Banana Mango flavor.
The Banana Mango ice pops come in a pack alongside some of Fla-Vor-Ice’s signature flavors, such as Berry Punch, Lemon Lime, Strawberry, Orange and Grape.
“In the CPG industry, it’s exceptionally rare for a company to open its R&D lab and empower kids to develop a flavor that ultimately makes it to market,” Amy Pagels, senior vice president of marketing at Jel Sert, said in a statement. “As a family-owned and operated business with large-scale manufacturing capabilities, we’re uniquely positioned to bring bold, unconventional ideas to life, something that sets us apart in this space.”
The Fla-Vor-Ice Crayola product is available in three pack sizes of freezer bars, a 200-count, 96-count and 20-count. It is available at Amazon, Sam’s Club and major retailers nationwide.
— Christopher Doering
Mission launches gluten-free tortillas made with chickpea flour
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Courtesy of Mission Foods
Mission Foods wants to give consumers a better-for-you tortilla alternative to mix up taco night.
The tortilla brand announced a gluten-free tortilla made from chickpea flour, an ingredient that has gained popularity for its nutritional content. Chickpeas are high in fiber and also contain more protein than wheat flour, two functional attributes increasingly important for consumers.
“We’re always listening to our customers and looking for ways to meet their needs, tastes and lifestyles,” said Garret Adrian, senior brand manager at Mission Foods. “With our new Chickpea Tortillas, we’re giving people the bold flavor and nutrition they want, while staying true to the quality they expect from a Mission Foods tortilla.”
The tortillas are the latest gluten-free alternative from Mission, joining sweet potato and spinach herb options. The chickpea tortillas are available in major retailers nationwide.
Nearly 60% of consumers want their snacks to be high in protein, according to a study from SNAC International. Close to half want probiotics or other functional ingredients — such as plant-based fibers — to aid digestion.
— Sarah Zimmerman
Tyson chicken nuggets go clean-label
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Courtesy of Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods is paring down its ingredient list for its latest innovation.
The meat giant announced Tyson Simple Ingredient Nuggets, a clean-label version of its chicken nuggets. The launch speaks to “the evolving desires of today’s shoppers for simplified labels, high protein and uncompromising taste,” the company said in a statement.
The nuggets boast 23 grams of protein, no added sugar and “simple, savory seasonings,” per a statement. They’re available at select stores in Original flavor, with a spicy version launching soon.
As consumers become more wary of processed foods, they’re demanding more “clean labels” with products containing recognizable ingredients and no artificial additives. Around 30% of consumers are looking to reduce processed foods, with 27% trying to limit products or ingredients perceived as bad for them, according to Innova Market Insights.
Innova found that close to one-third of new product launches in the food and beverage space featured a clean-label claim.
— Sarah Zimmerman
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