The UK retail giant has created the ultimate wine and cheese pairing guide based on astrology.
Aquarius
The ultimate snack: Exquisite Collection Rosé and Emporium Selection Camembert
Born from flowing air and sensible tastes, the camembert is a sure-fire way to any Aquarius’ heart. Dressed to the nines in a bloomy, edible rind and creamy texture, this cheese is date ready for the rosé, adorned in notes of watermelon and strawberry.
Pisces
The ultimate snack: Villanella Pinot Grigio and Emporium Selection Gruyere
For the passionate and imaginative Pisces, the gruyere delivers a down-to-earth, nutty flavour that appeals to their sensitive side. It’s a perfect partner to balance the wine’s sweet notes.
Aries
The ultimate snack: Outlander Cabernet Sauvignon and Aged Reserve White Cheddar
The cheddar is an award-winning favourite with a big hunky presence, just like the ambitious Aries. The wine’s fruity flavours and acidity cut deliciously through the aged cheddar’s sharpness.
Taurus
The ultimate snack: Peaks & Tides Pinot Noir and Aldi Cave Aged Cheddar
The perfect pairing for Taureans, who know a thing or two about the finer things in life. Straight from the Sonoma Coast, the complex wine features tones of dark fruit, a match made in heaven for sharp aged cheddar.
Gemini
The ultimate snack: Sunshine Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Emporium Selection Goat Cheese
A great snack for the playful, curious Gemini. Bringing the outdoors in, with the cheese’s unique flavour pairing with the wine’s refreshing notes of citrus and fresh green grass.
Cancer
The ultimate snack: Landshut Riesling and Emporium Selection Fondue
A creamy, dippable classic for the homey and nurturing Cancer, topped out with a semi-sweet Riesling from Mosel in Germany.
Leo
The perfect snack: 30 Miles Cabernet Sauvignon and Emporium Selection Artisan Cheddar Assortment
For lovably dramatic Leos, a collection of flavoured cheddars and its flavourful soul sister to make an impression at any party.
Virgo
The ultimate snack: Exquisite Collection Malbec and Emporium Selection Parmesan
The traditional process of making parmesan is as methodical as the highly efficient Virgo and delivers a tangy, nutty and sharp flavour that’s ideal with the rich fruity tones of the Malbec.
Libra
The ultimate snack: Belletii Prosecco and Emporium Selection Cheddar Parmesan
All the same characteristics as Libra: charming, beautiful and perfectly balanced.
Scorpio
The ultimate snack: Intermingle Cabernet Sauvignon and Emporium Selection Blue
Often misperceived due to its intensity, the blue is ideal for the mysterious Scorpio. Equally intense is the cab sav that has been aged in French oak barrels.
Sagittarius
The ultimate snack: Grande Alberone Moscato D'asti and Brie
Like the Saggi, brie is a cheese that demonstrates that it can be wise and intelligent, while also being the life of the party. And paired with the Moscato – pleasantly sweet, balanced and harmonious – it’s love at first bite.
Capricorn
The ultimate snack: William Wright Pinot Noir and Emporium Selection Semi-Soft Gouda
For the perfectly practical Capricorn, a handsomely traditional cheese that goes well with the pinot noir. And with a retail price of $2.99, it doesn't get much more practical than that.
The Kansas-based brand – which is at the forefront of regeneratively-grown flour and grain products – has won a listing at Balls Food Stores.
Regenerative agriculture is a movement focused on farming and grazing practices designed to create a more sustainable and resilient food system that can support the long-term health of both the environment and the people who depend on it.
The practices improve soil health, increase crop yields and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Founded in 2022, Farmer Direct produces whole grain flours that are regeneratively farmed, ground and milled. The flours can be traced straight back to its wheat fields and are minimally processed to preserve the natural nutrition and complete character of the grain.
The company utilises a network of multi-generational Kansas farmers who adhere to a set of regenerative farming guidelines. In exchange for committing to these guidelines, Farmer Direct pays its farmers a premium for their crops and shares a portion of the company’s profits.
Its range of whole grain flours are rolling out in select Hen House Market and Price Chopper locations across the Kansas City metro area in the US.
“Hen House and Price Chopper have always been at the top of our list for potential retail partners,” said Hayley Eckert, VP of Strategy and Sales for Farmer Direct.
“Their commitment to the national Buy Fresh Buy Local programme and supporting Kansas farmers makes this partnership a natural fit, and we’re excited to see how the product performs on shelves.
“Consumers are telling us they are interested in supporting a more sustainable supply chain. We believe there’s a demand for a sustainable choice in the artisan baking category at Balls Food Stores and we’re thrilled to be working with such a forward-thinking retailer.”
Farmer Direct chairman and CEO Tim Webster said the company’s products are bringing ethical and sustainable production processes to larger markets through the partnership.
“In addition to enabling our partners to offer premium local flour, it’s also important for us to be a valuable ESG resource,” he added.
“Given the current state of climate change, we have an ethical responsibility to produce wheat and flour products sustainably and support our partners who share these values.”
According to Peter, the designer and inventor, dipidup is the best dinner table innovation since the invention of chopsticks. It’s also a great way to serve up those essential dips to go with chips, crudites, tortilla and more.
The tech behind dipidup – the special shape of its glass cavities – is patent pending.
“The eccentric elliptical shape ensures that a strong jet of hot water and a little washing-up liquid is all you need to clean dipidup,” explained Peter.
“Cleaning is fast and fun, and all the oily residues of ketchup or mayonnaise are gone. Hey presto, it's clean and energy efficient.” Certainly a game changes in today’s cost-of-living crisis.
Highlights:
- No more dip mess – Mindful Eating
- The hole is patent pending
- The host decides what goes into each of the five glass cavities
- Each dinner guest has their own glass dipidup with five cavities
- You'll never have to share dip dressing or a side order again
“This is a ground-breaking invention that revolutionises the joy of eating,” added Peter.
We all know the value of a good dupe – especially when it comes to guilt-free snacking.
N!CK’S Swedish Style Snack Bars emulate a candy bar – chewy, chocolatey, nutty and craveable – but are packed with protein, good-for-you ingredients and just 3-4 net carbs.
Backed by Swedish food technology and nutrition, the brand has launched two new variants – Triple Choklad and Mint Choklad – offering even more decadent dupes to take on-the-go.
Available online at various price points.
Helping to make life easier, the London-based dessert company really do take the pain out of patisserie-chef level baking.
Providing meticulously measured out dry ingredients and simple to follow instructions in every kit allows you to build confidence in the kitchen. From standalone baking kits to subscription boxes, product bundles to gift tins, Mon Dessert have something for everyone.
Want to make Easter egg-stra special? Available for pre-order now, The Easter Bunny Cake Baking Kit (for an RRP of £14) will make the perfect centre piece for an Easter table.
The kit is rolling out in Ocado for an RRP of £14, sitting alongside the brand’s Mille-Feuille Kit and Chocolate & Gold Macaron Kit.
Mon Dessert’s full range is also available online.
The brand known for its layered bars made with real fruit juices and purees has expanded its portfolio with the launch of Pure Organic Baked Crackers made with cheese and veggies.
Available across the US, the Kellogg’s-owned line of baked crackers is made with 100% real cheese, plus added organic veggies, and is a good source of vitamin D.
With three flavours to choose from – Double Cheddar, Parmesan Garlic and Garden Ranch – there’s something for everyone.
“Filled with better-for-you ingredients and a superior taste in every bite, these crackers are made for kids and parents,” said Janice Spurgeon, brand manager for Pure Organic.
“We’re redefining the norm of snacking – first with our popular layered fruit bars and now with baked crackers – with a mission of creating treats that pay homage to old-school snacks while using quality ingredients for exceptional taste that the whole family can enjoy.”
Another notable element to Pure Organic's new Baked Crackers' packaging is a QR code that invites consumers to join the brand to help end childhood hunger.
Pure Organic will donate $25,000 to No Kid Hungry, which will provide 250,000 meals in 2023, aligned with Kellogg's Better Days Promise to create better days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030. This includes nourishing 1 billion people and feeding 375 million people facing food insecurity.
(No Kid Hungry does not provide individual meals; donations help support programmes that feed kids.)
Pure Organic Baked Crackers are available in Kroger outlets across the US for an RRP of $4.49.
The frozen snack brand is expanding its freezer aisle footprint, bringing permissible indulgence to more than 7,300 CVS Pharmacy locations across the US.
As the brand’s first drugstore presence, this retail milestone continues Yasso’s journey as the fastest growing scaled brand across ice cream and novelties (IRI MULO 24wks ending 1.23.23), with the third largest national distribution footprint in the frozen novelties category.
Yasso continues to be on track to surpass the brand’s $300m retail sales goal, while experiencing +32% growth in 2022.
Rolling out in CVS are four variants: Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Fudge Brownie (all with 100 calories and 5g of protein), as well as Vanilla Chocolate Crunch.
“Earning distribution with CVS Pharmacy is an incredible achievement for our brand as we seek to make Yasso available in all places that consumers are seeking permissibly indulgent snacks,” said Craig Shiesley, Yasso’s CEO.
“This partnership enables our brand to reach new households where we will deliver Yasso’s delicious, better-for-you snacking experience, something we believe will be incredibly compelling for the CVS Pharmacy shopper.”
Popcorn Kitchen has extended its popcorn expertise into the ‘home popping’ arena, with bottle kits in three pleasure-seeking formats: Rocky Road, Chocolate Eggs and Rainbow Beans.
The artisanal popcorn provider made its name producing an array of standout flavours for its small batch, hand-popped snacks – like Cherry Bakewell, Lemon Drizzle, Chocolate Brownie and Choc Mint, to name a few.
The new bottle format is packed with mushroom popcorn kernels, a generous quota of Belgian choc and the either chocolate eggs, marshmallow or multi-coloured chocolate beans. Simple, easy-to-follow instructions can be found on the back of the gifting bottles peel & reveal labels.
“As proud as we are of our extensive gourmet popcorn packs, we wanted to extend our reach into warm, home-popped chocolatey popcorn,” said Louise Webb, Popcorn Kitchen cofounder.
“Having listened to our loyalists, Popcorn Kitchen is now keen to have its say when it comes to fab family film nights into impromptu family gatherings around the kitchen table.”
Popcorn Kitchen Bottled Up Popcorn Kits come in 360g-440g format (depending on the flavour and provide 12-14 generous portions) for an RRP of £12.99.
88 Acres has added a Blondie bar to its lineup, after it outperformed in both flavour and nutrition after several rounds of testing among the brand’s loyal community.
The Chocolate Chip Blondie Protein Bar is soft-baked and contains organic Peruvian chocolate chips, a dash of vanilla and a sprinkle of large flakes of sea salt. It’s also packed with 12g of protein from whole pumpkin and sunflower seeds, along with essential vitamins, such as iron, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin E.
All of 88 Acres’ products are made by passionate workers at tits Boston bakery, using quality ingredients that a consumer would find in their own kitchen, but without the top 9 allergens, palm oil or any artificial.
Products are available on Amazon, along with US retail outlets like Walmart, Whole Foods, Target, Wegmans and Sprouts.
The global snacking company behind some of the UK’s iconic brands has expanded its classic noughties brand, BN, with a new cake format.
McVitie’s BN Mini Rolls are set to replicate BN’s success on the biscuit aisle. Last year, the brand took top spot as the biggest launch in Children’s Biscuits – driving 27% growth in this fast-growing segment.
Available in two much-loved classic flavours – Raspberry and Chocolate – McVitie’s BN Mini Rolls comprise a vanilla sponge filled with flavoured cream and enrobed in milk chocolate. Each individual Mini Roll comes in at just 100kcals.
“McVitie’s BN has been one of our biggest success stories in recent years, massively exceeding expectations following our relaunch last year,” said Cassie French, marketing director – Seasonal, Cake & Kids at pladis UK&I.
“While we’ve attracted an audience of younger families and reached even more biscuit lovers with BN, there’s an opportunity to scale this with our latest NPD which taps into the popularity of Mini Rolls.”
Now worth £1.25bn and growing +9%, the Ambient Cake category represents a significant sales opportunity for retailers – and Mini Rolls are at the helm (+12%).
“The great thing about McVitie’s BN Mini Rolls is that they cater to an entirely new occasion than their biscuit counterparts,” added French.
“Snacking shoppers are relishing the classic taste of McVitie’s BN the biscuit aisle, so taking this to the nation’s cake aisles will extend appeal further and welcome a new audience of shoppers looking to add a permissible sweet treat to home lunches or midweek meal occasions.
“Like so many McVitie’s products, BN Mini Rolls are perfect to enjoy as part of a balanced diet, as they offer shoppers a little bit of chocolatey indulgence, without topping the scale when it comes to calories. In fact, we already know that a third of UK shoppers actively seek snacks containing 100kcals or less – so McVitie’s BN Mini Rolls align perfectly with Brits’ snacking priorities.”
McVitie’s BN Mini Rolls are available at an everyday low price point of £1 for a pack of five individually wrapped bars in retail outlets across the UK.
