Trendspotting in 2023: Post celebrates Disney’s 100th, PepsiCo-Frito-Lay tackles hunger with celeb chefs at Taste of the NLF and Popcorn Kitchen plants trees

Super Bowl LVII is getting ready to kick off, and there’s loads of fun planned for fans at the 32^nd annual Taste of the NFL.

The NFL’s largest sanctioned charity event is presented by Frito-Lay, Quaker and the PepsiCo Foundation, and brings together top NFL players and legends, five celeb chefs and 2,500 football and foodie fans alike for one great cause: an annual purpose-driven culinary experience to raise awareness and funds to tackle hunger and food insecurity amongst American youths.

The event is being held at the Chateau Luxe in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, 11 February and once again will benefit GENYOUth. The non-profit’s End Student Hunger Fund has raised millions of dollars to help schools deliver and distribute meals to at-risk students, but still has thousands of outstanding requests to fulfil from schools in need.

Event proceeds will directly benefit Phoenix schools and high needs school districts in 31 other NFL club markets across the country, providing meals to hundreds of thousands of students, particularly the 1 in 8 who suffer from food insecurity.

Celeb chefs – including Andrew Zimmern, Carla Hall, Lasheeda Perry, Tim Love and Mark Boucher – together with over 25 Arizona-based culinary superstars (Beau MacMillan, Christopher Gross, Maria Mazon and others) will join NFL stars and a host of entertainment and sports celebrities to create a high energy culinary experience with incredible food and spirits and other surprise moments throughout the evening.

Tickets are going fast, so grab yours while you can.

Frozen food distributor Central Foods has developed a vegan variant of its popular KaterBake Belgian Waffle.

The waffle comes individually wrapped for hygiene, and a 45-day defrosted shelf life for extra convenience.

Made in Belgium – birthplace of the waffle – with a traditional pearl sugar that caramelises on heating for a richer, sweeter flavour, the waffles are tasty at room temp or warmed through.

“The increase in demand for vegan options continues, and it therefore makes perfect sense to tweak recipes wherever we can to make them suitable for vegans to ensure that our products cater for as many customers as possible,” said Gordon Lauder, MD of Central Foods.

“With a slight alteration to the recipe, we’ve been able to change the ingredients of our KaterBake Belgian Waffle so that it is now vegan, but still with the same delicious, authentic flavour.”

The Belgian Waffle is part of the KaterBake sweet and savoury own brand bakery range supplied to the food service sector by Northamptonshire-based Central Foods.

Cherry Bakewell is the 8^th variant in Popcorn Kitchen’s ongoing mission to re-create an immersive popcorn experience from childhood memories.

Made with mushroom popcorn, caramel, freeze-dried sour cherries and a discreet all-natural almond flavouring, the decadent guilt-free treat emulates the iconic British dessert.

The producer is a dynamic premium tier popcorn provider that exclusively targets the speciality and hospitality channels, including garden centres, delis, indie stores and coffee shops.

“As a business that has tripled in size since lockdown, we think we now have a really good grasp of what we do and don’t bring to the indulgent popcorn party,” said co-founder Andy Valentine.

“Lacklustre popcorn is simply not our thing, which is why we offer decadent flavours like Lemon Drizzle, Eton Mess and everyone’s favourite wafer-thin mint and vegan brownie in a sublime popcorn format.”

Popcorn Kitchen Cherry Bakewell is available for an RRP of £1.49 for a 30g pack. Its partnership with Reewild means that a tree is planted for every order of Popcorn Kitchen sold, with hopes to plant 50,000 trees over the next five years

Catalina Crunch has released a new Crunch Mix variant for those who love a sweet zesty flavour combo.

The limited-edition Honey Mustard Crunch Mix is packed with a mix of nuts, chickpea pretzels and Catalina Crunch Cereal, a high-protein, low-carb option.

Catalina Crunch’s better-for-you cereals are made with protein, fibre, good fats, real ingredients, very little to no sugar, and are Keto friendly to help keep you fuller for longer.

Available in a raft of childhood fav flavours: Cinnamon Toast Cereal (think Cinnamon Toast Crunch), Chocolate Peanut Butter (think Reese’s), Fruity (this Froot Loop), Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Puffs) and Honey Grahams (Honey Oh’s).

Each bite will have you feeling like a kid again – making it fun to up your health game in 2023.

To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Disney (Disney100), Post Consumer Brands is participating in the Disney 100 Years of Wonder year-long celebration with the launch of two new limited edition offerings.

As a staple at the breakfast table, Post worked together with Disney to create a one-of-a-kind Mickey Mouse head-shaped fruity cereal and a new-to-market confetti cake flavoured cereal.

Post will also be releasing a special edition of the new confetti cake cereal in a Mickey Mouse-themed collector’s metal tin. The metal tin and cereal retails for $40 and represents a time capsule that inspires fans to remember and appreciate the start of Disney.

Celebrations to commemorate the Walt Disney Co.'s 100th anniversary are officially underway at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. To celebrate the huge milestone, the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ is decked out in platinum-infused décor, which includes statues and Disney100 medallions.

The UK better-for-you brand is making its move into bricks & mortar retail this year, which it believes is very timeous for the Jams & Spreads category, with Nielsen data showing the historically stoic category has declined over the past 12 months as consumers have healthier living aspirations.

Yummtella is a sugar-free/keto-friendly nut spread alternative to the world’s No. 1 hazelnut spread, which the brand contends contains the equivalent of 56 sugar cubes per jar.

It also meets the need of the low carb/high protein, gluten-free, vegan communities, while being clean of palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives bulkers.

Yummtella was crafted by food entrepreneur Joulie Gindi who, thanks to her diabetes type 1 status, wanted to create a chocolate spread that was packed with minerals and vitamins, without compromising on taste.

“We’ve exciting retail/online opportunities to share over the coming weeks for our modish spread in 2023 having spent a lion’s share of 2022 building a passionate D2C following whilst commissioning our stunning new packaging,” said Gindi.

Available online as well as at London’s Raye the Store.

The better-for-you snack brand has taken the snacking experience to the next level: in fact, it’s going interstellar.

The brand is on a mission to make healthy, organic, less-processed, and sustainable snacks more accessible and has unveiled two new family-friendly product innovations.

Space Balls are air-puffed whole grain organic corn balls swirled with avocado oil and Himalayan salt, and available in two flavours: Interstellar Cheddar and Cinnamon Sugar.

Cosmic Rings are formed when warm air and pressure collide with whole grain organic corn. Tossed in avocado oil and simple organic seasoning, Cosmic Rings, in their toddler-friendly shape, will be available in Comic Cheddar and Berry Blast.

LesserEvil’s Space Balls are Certified Vegan, while both the Space Balls and Cosmic Rings are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free and kosher.

“At LesserEvil, we’ve always innovated with the Earth in mind,” said Charles Corisine, president and CEO.

“We’ve built sustainability into every step of the process, and are proud to make healthy, organic, less processed snacks more accessible and affordable for everyone.

“With the launch of Space Balls and Cosmic Rings, we’re continuing to deepen our roots in the snack aisle while also expanding further into kids' snacks, still a newer frontier for us. We're having fun with it and bringing a new dimension to the LesserEvil brand.”

Space Balls are now available for purchase exclusively at Whole Foods Market for $5.99 per 7oz bag. Cosmic Rings will make their debut in Walmart for $3.99 per 3oz bag later this quarter.

In sourcing organic and functional ingredients, providing minimal processing, using better oils and practicing sustainability, LesserEvil makes products that are better for both people and the environment. Helping minimize waste, LesserEvil partners with NEO Plastics to package all its snacks.

There’s a new snack kid on the block, designed to improve gut health, while satisfying cravings for other types of foods.

Pac Pac Snacks are inspired by Japanese traditions and rely on superfood ingredients such as konjac, matcha, and chia seeds that are known to improve digestion, while helping the body to absorb minerals more effectively, control diabetes and boost immunity.

The plant-based snacks are suitable for vegans, are gluten-free and pack in only 20 calories each. The chews are sweetened with 4g of beet sugar per serving and contain 9g of fat.

Available in two flavours: Peach and Chia, the chews contain konnyaku powder sourced from Gunma, Japan, a prebiotic fibre shows to help lower cholesterol, chia seeds for extra texture, and 100% Japanese matcha for a mild energy boost.

Available online, via online retailers like GTFO It’s Vegan and Snacks Magic, and gourmet retailers Chaya in Honolulu and The Golden Harvest in Maine, Pac Pac's have an RRP of $8.99 per 16-count packs of 17.5g pocket-sized pouches.

Pillsbury has again teamed up with Lisa Frank Incorporated to re-release Pillsbury Lisa Frank Unicorn Shape Sugar Cookie Dough.

A sought-after favourite that originally hit shelves last year, this limited edition cookie dough comes ready-to-bake but is also safe to eat raw.

Lisa Frank is an American businesswoman known for producing whimsical commercial design for school supplies and other products marketed to children.

The cookie feature’s Frank’s fantastical Unicorn and is perfect for budding bakers to add some colour to the kitchen.

Pillsbury Lisa Frank Unicorn Shape Sugar Cookie Dough is available in retail across the US for an RRP of $2/7.

Snacking is huge right now and research reveals pastries are a popular snack, with 66% of consumers enjoying them between meals and 29% for breakfast. Even more popular is the rise of vegan alternatives, and Délifrance has partnered with Quorn to deliver the Vegan Ham & Cheeze Crown.

A tasty golden-brown flaky pastry and topped with Quorn Ham pieces in a smooth dairy-free béchamel sauce, the Crown offers operators and retailers a convenient grab and go option, while catering for the growing ranks of plant-based diners.

Available in retail packs of two from the frozen aisle in convenience and retail stores – in the familiar Quorn branded packaging – and also frozen in boxes of 40 with an easy-to-use branded holder.