Gobble gobble
Pringles is rolling out limited edition Friendsgiving Turducken Kits and a Roasted Turkey variant to celebrate Thanksgiving 2019.
According to Pringle’s owner Kellogg Company, the turkey crisps emulate that fresh-out-of-the-oven, roasted turkey taste, no basting required.
The brand also knows there’s no bigger let down than when a turkey disaster on the special day, so is offering special Turkey Insurance, which pays out in Pringles Roasted Turkey crisps.
To apply, fans living in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are invited to tweet their past or present horror stories, using #Pringles #TurkeyInsuranceEntry, on November 27.
Five winners will also receive a golden-roasted prop turkey to complete the Thanksgiving buffet.
Pringles’ newest Thanksgiving Dinner Kit featuring the Turducken Stack also brings forth more stacking possibilities.
Each kit includes Turkey, Duck and Chicken Pringles, along with Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie flavoured crisps packed in a special tray to create a Friendsgiving feast.
“We pride ourselves on offering consumers insanely accurate flavours with endless stacking possibilities,” said Gareth Maguire, senior director of marketing for Pringles.
“For our third year, we created the perfect kit for those who are infatuated with the Thanksgiving meat masterpiece that is the almighty Turducken, as well as anyone looking to enjoy a new take on a Friendsgiving feast.”
But be warned, the kits are selling out fast for an RRP of $15.99 online.
Going Greek and gluten free
Phyllo dough specialist Athens Foods has taken the classic Greek pastry up a notch with the launch of All-New Gluten Free Phyllo Bites, specifically designed for consumers with a gluten sensitivity or allergy, or even just a preference for a gluten-free lifestyle.
Delicate, crispy layers of phyllo are wrapped around a choice of three savoury fillings: Spinach & Cheese, Buffalo-style Chicken and Steak Fiesta. The snacks come frozen and are quick and easy to prepare.
Athens Foods has spent more than 60 years perfecting the classic Greek phyllo dough and said it was a natural fit to develop a phyllo recipe sans-gluten.
“Often you find gluten free products sacrifice taste or texture once the gluten is removed from the equation. We're thrilled to present an alternative that is just as crisp and delicious as any traditional phyllo dough snack,” said Chase Ames, VP of sales and marketing at Athens Foods.
The bites are available in select US grocery stores for an RRP of $4.99-$5.49.
Guilt-free stocking filler
Protein snack producer Nibble has swung into the festive spirit with the release of a high protein, lower sugar gingerbread bites.
This latest addition to the Nibble Protein snacking range blends the traditional flavours of the festive season into protein-packed bites that contain 30% less sugar than most standard all-natural protein bars and balls on the market.
The delicately spiced bites are based on a traditional Swedish recipe, which uses a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and are topped with chopped almonds.
Nibble Protein Bites Gingerbread pack a 21% protein punch, contain less than 1g of sugar per serving and under 100 calories per bag. They are also a good source of iron, potassium, magnesium and vitamins K and A.
The bites are vegan friendly, gluten-free and made from an allergen-free, sustainable ‘slow digesting’ pea protein, along with gluten-free oats, coconut nectar and an antioxidant-rich dried plum puree.
Available online, on Amazon and through independent retailers across the UK for an RRP of £1.49 ($1.91) per bag.
Scaling up
Griddle Pancake is rolling out its new Original Wholegrain and Lemon & Poppy Seed Pancakes in 100 Sainsbury’s stores across the UK.
A Double-Choc Chip variant, as a well as a new vegan SKU, are set to join line up throughout other retailers in early 2020.
The brand – founded by Sophie McGregor and Ella Harland – is launching the new range in tandem with its first crowdfunding campaign with Seedrs.
“We’ve decided to also launch our new range alongside Seedrs, as we thought it was a great opportunity to get our customers behind us as we scale and we’re really excited about what’s to come next year,” said Harland.
Griddle Pancakes are American-style pancakes that ‘taste like your mum made’ but with 50% less sugar. Using only natural ingredients – including 100% wholegrain – the company recommends eating them either straight up, drizzled with syrup or drowned in nut butter.
McGregor and Harland launched Griddle Pancakes’ preliminary range in As Nature Intended and independent stores in the UK last year.
Bada boom!
Bada Bean Bada Boom has introduced two new variants to its existing line of crunchy broad bean snacks.
Zesty Ranch and Sweet Onion & Mustard Bada Bean snacks offer a plant-based, lower-carb alternative to other ranch- and honey mustard-flavoured snacks that are typically high in salt and calories, without compromising on flavour or texture.
Like all Bada Bean flavours, the new flavours are made with simple ingredients: broad beans (aka fava beans), a touch of sunflower oil and seasonings.
The brand is 100% vegan, gluten free and non-GMO.
Each 1oz serving of Zesty Ranch and Sweet Onion & Mustard packs 6g of plant-based protein and 3g of fibre.
Available from selected outlets across the US.
Bigger is better
LA gourmet popcorn specialist Popcornopolis is rolling out its 22oz bag of Caramel Corn and 14oz bag of Cheddar Cheese Popcorn in Sam’s Club locations across the US.
The producer’s family Caramel Corn recipe remains a closely guarded secret, which makes the double serving of its iconic 10oz cone a Popcornopolis fan’s dream. Like so for the brand’s Cheddar Cheese variant, which it describes as ‘zesty, bold and 100% addictive.’
Popcornopolis – founded by Wally and Kathy Arnold in 2002 – today offers over 20 popcorn flavours, made from American-grown, non-GMO corn. The gourmet popcorn is also certified gluten-free, and contains no high fructose corn syrup or added preservatives.
The company’s iconic cone-shaped and bagged popcorn packages can be found in grocery and club stores, sports arenas, movie theatres and online.
Going crackers for Christmas
UK oatcakes producer Nairn’s has entered the Christmas category for the first time with the launch of a Gluten Free Savoury Biscuit Selection box, a great foil for cheese and port.
The limited edition box includes Wholegrain Crackers, Cheese Crackers, Cracked Black Pepper Crackers, Super Seeded Crackers, Oatcakes and Cheese Oatcakes, made from wholegrain oats with no added sugar, artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
“Our state-of-the-art gluten-free bakery has allowed us to grow from strength to strength within the gluten-free category, allowing us to launch lots of exciting and innovative free-from products into the market,” said Emma Heath, head of marketing at Nairn’s.
“Our new selection box demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting our loyal free-from audience with products that are convenient, as well as healthy and delicious.”
Available in Tesco stores in the UK at an RRP of £3.75 ($4.82) for 235g.
Insights-based innovation
Hostess Brands has added iced Danishes to its extensive portfolio of sweet baked goods.
The Danishes feature a flaky puff pastry made with laminated yeast-leavened dough that creates a layered texture, filled with cream cheese and fruit – available in Iced Berries & Cream Cheese, Cream Cheese and Apple Cinnamon – and drizzled with icing.
The treats are packed in a single-serve format and are available in convenience stores and grocery stores across the US.
“We are responding to a consumer preference and enhancing a classic item in our breakfast portfolio,” said Chad Lusk, senior VP and chief marketing officer for Hostess Brands.
“Because their passion for icing is clear, we believe our consumers will react to this insights-based innovation with enthusiasm.”
Hostess has also released several limited-time treats this fall, including Iced Pumpkin CupCakes, Pumpkin Spice Twinkies and Caramel Crunch Donettes.
‘Tis the season to be jolly
Pepperidge Farm’s Caramel Macchiato and Irish Cream Milano Cookies transform the flavours of two festive drinks into cookie form.
According to the company, the drink-inspired flavours give a delicious twist to its iconic Milano Cookies that are enrobed in chocolate, complemented with notes of either caramel, vanilla and coffee, or chocolate syrup and Irish whiskey.
The cookies are now available at Target stores in the US for an RRP of $3.89 per 7oz bag (pack of seven cookies). They’ll be rolled out to retailers like Walmart and Publix in early 2020.
These two Milano cookies join the Toy Soldier cookies that Pepperidge Farms rolled out in late October in collaboration with the Christmas Spectacular Radio City Rockettes.
Inspired by the group's ‘Parade of the Wooden Soldiers’ dance, the cinnamon and brown sugar-infused shortbread pieces are shaped like mini toy soldiers.
The limited edition cookies are available at major retailers nationwide, along with the company’s other holiday offerings like the Candy Cane Milanos and Mint Brussels.
As natural as it can be
Aussie food producer Brookfarm has launched an organic cereal range for babies.
Brookfarm Bloom is the first cereal to introduce small quantities of tree nuts to children, with fine ground organic tree nuts and organic whole grains on the ingredients list.
According to the National Allergy Strategy, research shows that, to prevent the development of up to 80% of food allergies in children, it’s important to introduce the common allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, cow’s milk, sesame, fish and shellfish in their diet between the age of 4-12 months and to continue this over the next five years.
Other all-natural ingredients in Brookfarm Bloom cereals include ancient grains like amaranth and quinoa and freeze-dried fruits.
The range is also 100% organic, free of added sugar, preservatives and peanuts, and is a good source of iron and thiamine.
The range sports three variants – Smooth Banana, Smooth Pear and Apple & Carrot – as well as gluten free variants.
“As adults, we don’t eat single ingredient foods, so why should our children? Bloom introduces well balanced flavours in the right way,” said Pam Brook, co-founder of Brookfarm.
“We make the kind of food a caring parent would make themselves at home for their baby. Our recipes come from our family kitchen – like everything we’ve ever produced.”
Available online for AU$7.35 (US$4.99) for 120g pack.
Happy healthy Christmas
UK air-dried fruit and veggie crisp producer Nim’s has launched a limited edition range of festive crisps.
The Kent-based company has added Beet & Butt, Bubble & Squeak and Brussels to its growing army of products and, in a first for the business, are available in sharing bag size.
The Beet & Butt is an earthy combination of beetroot and sweet butternut squash; Bubble & Squeak is a Christmas classic made with parsnip, beetroot and Brussel sprouts; and Brussels is as it says, pure Brussel sprout joy.
All Nim’s crisps are air dried, not fried, and certified as one of your five a day. Nim’s is an approved supplier to the UK’s National Health Service and made in an environment that is certified nut free and gluten free. The products are also certified vegan and Kosher.
“Christmas is a great time to celebrate with friends and family so we thought we’d introduce a number of festive favourites and package them in share bags so they could be enjoyed at parties and big gatherings,” said Nimisha Raja, Nim’s founder.
To top that, she added “Our process uses no oils, chemicals or additives, just the whole fruit and veg and, as a result, we produce virtually zero food waste.”
The Christmas varieties are available from independent retailers, including Tesco, Waitrose and Co-Op, or online for £1.95 ($2.50) per bag.
Upping the cracker ante
GG Scandinavian Bran Crispbreads has launched a gluten free line of its popular crispbread crackers.
The GG Gluten Free crackers are available in Multi-Seed and Honey Cinnamon varieties, packing 3g of fibre, 3g of carbs and only 40 calories per cracker.
“The top comment from our consumers on social media is a request for a gluten free version, so we wanted to give our GG fans what they want,” said Christine de Sciora, GG Scandinavian Crispbreads’ brand manager.
“We even involved our followers in the flavour creations, so this launch is a true collaborative effort with our consumers, and we are so excited for them to taste the gluten free creations.”
Aside from the gluten free crackers, the brand still offers the Original recipe from 1935, but has expanded its range with new variants, including Oat Bran (made with just two ingredients), Sunflower Seed, Pumpkin Seed and Honey Raisin.
GG Gluten Free crackers are available online and on Amazon for an RRP of $3.99 for a 3.5oz package (15 crackers).
