This week’s batch of new products includes Packed energy bars from General Mills, a pea-based snack bar from Nestle and a vegan version of Carnation milk, and the debut of a baby-food brand in Canada by Kraft Heinz.
Upfield unveils Flora Plant block butter
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Upfield has launched a plant-based block butter under its Flora brand in the UK and Ireland.
The company suggests its new Flora Plant product performs just like dairy butter in cooking, frying, and baking.
Flora Plant is 100% plant-based and made using natural ingredients from plant oils sunflower, rapeseed and sustainable palm.
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Available in salted and unsalted variants, Flora Plant is vegan and is also suitable for anyone who may have a dairy, gluten or lactose intolerance.
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By GlobalDataCatherine Lloyd, marketing director at Upfield UK&I, said: “Flora Plant is our biggest innovation in years. It launches with ten delicious specially developed plant-based recipes to demonstrate how good it tastes and how versatile it is to work with; performing as well as dairy butter. The recipes include blondie brownies, glazed sweetcorn and our favourite – the plant-based burger.”
The product will be launched in all major supermarkets in the UK and Ireland with an RRP of GBP1.80 (US$2.36) for a 250g block.
Generals Mills rolls out Packed energy bars
General Mills has launched Packed, a new energy bar under the US food giant’s Nature Valley brand.
Described as “creamy, crunchy and chewy”, Packed is made with nut butter, nuts and seeds such as almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or peanuts. They contain no artificial flavourings or colours and have no high fructose corn syrup.
The bars come in two flavours, Peanut Butter and Cranberry and Almond Butter and Blueberry, and are available now across the US at a suggested retail price of US$4.49 for a pack of four.
“Through Packed, we want to make sustained energy approachable,” said Scott Baldwin, business unit director for grain snacks at General Mills. “Time and again, we’ve heard from consumers who want a delicious, affordable snack bar with feel-good ingredients that not only bring together a variety of textures, but can also offer long-lasting energy to help them get through their busy days.”
Kraft Heinz’s palm-oil free hazelnut spread
Kraft Heinz has launched a hazelnut spread in Canada that is free-from palm oil and low in saturated fat.
Kraft Hazelnut Spread is made with roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, and contains no peanut butter.
The spreads are available now across Canada in all “major grocery stores”.
Daniel Gotlib, associate director for brand building and innovation at Kraft Heinz in Canada, said: “We’re excited to expand into the broader nut-based spread category with Kraft Hazelnut Spread. We are excited to bring to the category a unique spread with no palm oil and that is low in saturated fat.”
And also from Kraft Heinz:
Kraft Heinz unveils new baby-food brand Heinz by Nature
US-based food major Kraft Heinz has unveiled a new baby food brand on the Canadian market – Heinz by Nature.
Heinz by Nature features 40 SKUs with organic and natural ingredients options, along with the choice of acerola cherry, the common name for the Malpighia Emarginata tropical fruit-bearing shrub which is naturally high in ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C.
The new range has no added sugar or salt and is free from artificial preservatives.
Daniel Gotlib, a senior manager for brand building and innovation at Kraft Heinz in Canada, said: “We know preparing your own baby food with simple ingredients can be daunting and not all new parents have the time. With Heinz by Nature we’ve crafted a line-up of baby foods that parents can feel good about feeding their baby on-the-go or at home.”
Nestle churns out vegan Carnation ‘milk’ brand
Nestlé has added a plant-based version to its Carnation condensed-milk brand in the UK.
The Vegan Condensed Milk Alternative is made with a blend of oats and rice flour, and has been certified by Birmingham-based charity the Vegan Society.
It will launch first on the online shopping channel Ocado in September, followed in October by Morrisons and Tesco in the UK and Ireland.
Vittoria Simms, the head of dairy brand marketing in the UK, said: “It has been a challenge for vegans to find suitable alternatives to make dairy or caramel-based sweets treats or desserts without having to compromise on taste, texture or appearance. Our new Vegan Condensed Milk Alternative has been in development for 18 months, bringing the plant-based, dairy-free trend straight into the kitchen for home baking.”
And in the rest of Europe from Nestlé:
Nestle to launch pea-protein bars in Europe
Nestlé is planning to launch protein bars made with peas and nuts under its Yes snacks brand.
The bars add to the firm’s current range of fruit- and nut-based snacks, with peas as the main protein ingredient and come in two flavours: Almond, Peanut and Double Dark Chocolate; and Cashew, Blueberry and Dark Chocolate.
They contain ten grams of protein and are gluten-free with no artificial colours or preservatives, and are wrapped in recyclable paper packaging.
Nestlé is set to launch the bars in September in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
Louise Barrett, head of the Nestlé Confectionery Product Technology Centre, said: “Pea protein is a key focus area for us because it has a high protein content and is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of plant protein. When developing these new … bars, we chose pea and nut protein to really stand out from many of the other bars on the market.”
Swiss retailer Migros and Israel’s Innovopro link up for chickpea yogurt launch
Migros, Switzerland’s largest retailer, has collaborated with Israeli food-tech start-up Innovopro on the launch of a chickpea yogurt product.
Sold under its Hafer Avoine brand name, the product is said to be the first dairy-free yogurt in the world with chickpea protein. It contains Innovopro’s CP Pro 70 chickpea concentrate.
The yogurts also include oats and are gluten- and lactose-free.
The Migros-exclusive line includes three flavours, Natural, Vanilla and Tropical Fruits.
Matthew Robin, CEO of ELSA-Mifroma (a group of manufacturing companies in the Migros Group and a milk processing company), said: “The collaboration with Innovopro on the chickpea protein CP Pro 70 opens for us the opportunity to create new solutions for unmet consumer needs. The chickpea protein with its high functionality, neutral taste and clean label profile enables us to offer consumers new and exciting products.”
