From ready-to-eat pouches of wheatberry & quinoa, spreadable skyr and gourmet instant desserts with cocoa and chia seeds, we take a loot at some of the recent new product launches that stand out.
From ready-to-eat pouches of wheatberry & quinoa, spreadable skyr and gourmet instant desserts with cocoa and chia seeds, we take a loot at some of the recent new product launches that stand out.
This August Danish dairy giant Arla Foods brought Icelandic skyr to the German market under its cream cheese brand Buko.
Protein-rich Skyr fitted into the growing trend for protein and would strengthen Arla Buko’s position in the cream cheese natural segment, the company said.
Arla Buko manufactures dairy products that contain only natural ingredients. “[That] means that no thickening agents, flavour enhancers or preservatives are used, among other things.”
Randi Riisager Wahlsten, senior category director for cheese at Arla Foods in Germany described the product as “another building block to expand our brand business in the German market".
A 200 g tub has a recommended retail price of €1.29.
This month also saw Buko refresh its branding to align more closely with Arla and draw attention to its all-natural ingredient list.
French organic brand Natali launched vegan and gluten-free powdered desserts that are prepared by consumers by adding water, milk or plant-based milk alternatives and can be eaten hot or cold.
“Specially formulated with vegetable juice, these two preparations for cream desserts are particularly interesting from a dietary point of view as they contain coconut sugar and at least 42% black chia seeds,” it said.
The desserts are available in two flavours – chia & cacao and chia & vanilla – and have a clean label ingredient list of just four ingredients: coconut sugar, chia seeds, cacao/vanilla and agar-agar gum.
One 70 g sachet makes four 125 ml dessert and retails for €2.37.
Based in Northern France, the company manufactures organic powdered desserts, culinary aids, yoghurt and kefir cultures and instant soups.
German brand Nabio launched a range of organic and vegan pulse-based protein spreads.
The additive-free bread spreads have a creamy texture and taste, and can be used on bread, in wraps or as a dip, the company said.
The front pack draws attention to the high protein content and, compared to traditional spreads with sunflower oil, these spreads contain around 50% less fat, Nabio said.
The range includes six flavours: chickpea and tomato; pea and basil; red lentil and walnut; soybean and curcumin; kidney bean and paprika; white bean, rocket and mustard.
The spreads have a ten-month shelf life and the recommended retail price for a 140 g jar is €2.49.
A typical ingredient list is: red lentils (25%), water, tomato paste , soybeans (13%), tomatoes (11%), sunflower oil, walnuts (4%), onions, dried dates (2.5%) (dates, rice flour), sea salt, agave syrup, lemon juice concentrate, garlic, ginger, cumin, thickener: locust bean gum, black cumin, coriander, black pepper.
Spice brand Schwartz launched Street Food Seasonings across the UK at the start of summer. It said the range of single-use, spice blend sachets aims to tap into the street food trend by allowing consumers to recreate recipes at home from scratch.
The range contains six flavours: Caribbean Jerk, a blend of allspice, pineapple and chillies; Baharat, a Middle Eastern-inspired mix of coriander, garlic and black pepper; Korean BBQ, a mix of chilli, sesame seed and garlic; Chimichurri, an Argentinian blend of coriander, parsley and garlic; a Mexican mix of jalapeño, garlic and lime; and Sriracha, a Thai-style seasoning with chillies and garlic.
The recommended retail price of £0.99 per sachet is an accessible price point that would allow consumers to dare to “cook more adventurously at home with confidence”, it said.
Nic Yates, UK head of marketing said: “We know our audience is looking for more adventurous and varied flavours when it comes to eating out and now, we’re offering them the perfect way to recreate some of their favourite dishes at home.”
The Schwartz brand is owned by US company McCormick & Company, which generates $4.8 billion (€4.14bn) in annual sales.
Last week UK company Merchant Gourmet, which makes products based on pulses, grains, seeds and chestnuts, launched two ready-to-eat grain-based meals that can be prepared in less than one minute.
Pesto Italian-Infused Grains is a mix of quinoa and wheatberries, the whole wheat kernel composed of the bran, germ, and endosperm. Flavoured with basil pesto, the product is high in protein and can be eaten hot and cold.
A 100 g serving provides 6.1 g of protein and 3.4 g of fibre.
The second product, Puglia Lentils with Truffle-Infused Oil, pack in 9.3 g of protein, 7.4 g of fibre and are a good source of iron with 2.6 mg per 100 g serving.
Both products are available in the supermarkets, Waitrose, Asda and Ocado.
Head of brand at Merchant Gourmet Nyree Chambers said: “The range offers consumers a healthy alternative to quick fix foods and serves as the perfect nutritious ingredient to add to any lunch or dinner to increase both protein and fibre intake. We’ve also added suggested recipes onto the packaging to make it even easier for consumers to create tasty and nutritious meals using the grains and lentils.”
Merchant Gourmet’s ready-to-eat range now counts 18 products.
This summer French dairy Lactel added whole goat’s milk to its range of goat’s milk, which launched last year.
The company said it was responding to consumer demands for “natural and authentic foods”.
It recommends a retail price of €2.59 for a 1 litre bottle of whole goat’s milk; €1.86 for a litre of semi-skimmed and €1.99 for a litre of skimmed.
It described the taste as being “sweet and rich in character”.
UK healthy snacking company Inspiral has expanded its range of kale chips with a new mango chutney flavour.
The chips are flavoured with real mangoes that make up over 30% of the product, as well as cashew nuts, coconut palm sugar and goji berries.
The company said it makes the chips by coating kale pieces in a sweet and spicy mango chutney and then gently dehydrating them until crispy.
The chips are priced at £15.54 for a pack of six on its website, and are sold in Whole Foods and Holland & Barrett.
French stevia brand Pure Via launched a range of jams that contain 65% fruit, compared to 50% in standard jams, and with 40% less sugar.
The four-product range of strawberry, apricot, raspberry and blueberry jams contain fruit, sugar, lemon juice and stevia as a sweetener.
The jams are sold in 300 g pots and a 100 g serving contains 33 g of sugar.
PureVia’s other products include table-top stevia-based sweeteners as well as agave syrup and coconut sugar.