Sweet Goods & Dairy Social Media Listening

Listening Dates: July 1st – September 30th

Drum Roll, Please…

And the winner is…Crunchy Mint! On April 1^st, consumers were able to try candidates for Mars’ new M&M flavors: Crunchy Espresso, Crunchy Raspberry, and Crunchy Mint. This was part of the brand’s second Flavor Vote campaign. Crunchy Mint will now join M&M’s existing candy line-up and will be available at US retailers for an 18-month period. M&M’S Crunchy Mint features dark chocolate wrapped in the brand’s signature colorful crispy shell with a cocoa rice crisp center.

A Real Gem

Hershey’s has debuted a new range of infused flavors through their Organic Chocolate line called Dagoba. Dagoba offers bars and bite sized chocolate gems which incorporate innovative flavor combinations of fruits, herbs, and flowers with their organic chocolate. The new flavors include:  84% cacao extra dark chocolate, 37% cacao ginger lime milk chocolate, 74% cacao picante extra dark chocolate with chilies and nibs, and white chocolate with raspberry and mint.

Nosh On Ganache

Another release of premium chocolates to satisfy your sweet tooth, this time by Godiva. G Cubes, a cube-shaped package consisting of 22 individually wrapped premium chocolates, feature milk, dark and white chocolate variants combined with various flavors. The new milk chocolate flavors include matcha, hazelnut, salted caramel ganache, pumpkin spice and milk chocolate, while the dark chocolate offerings feature mint, strawberry, vanilla, and a standard dark chocolate variant. As for white chocolate, Godiva is only offering a coffee flavored G Cube.

Gummy Shot, Extra Caffeine Please

There’s now an entirely new way to order your morning “cup of coffee” with Seattle Gummy Company’s recent release of chocolate-flavored, caffeinated gummies. The company claims that each gummy shot contains 100mg of caffeine (equivalent to a cup of coffee) and that the caffeine in each gummy shot is absorbed five times faster since it is absorbed by mouth mucus and completely avoids the traditional digestive process. Two flavors are included in the initial release: chocolate orange and chocolate raspberry.

Easily A-Moussed With This One

Danone-owned So Delicious Dairy Free has stepped it up a notch by offering a vegan-based frozen mousse line in the vegan dessert category. Each pint contains between 300 and 330 calories and flavors include salted caramel swirl, mango swirl, peanut butter swirl, strawberry swirl, lemon swirl, chocolate chip, and cranberry cherry swirl.

It’s All About The Plant Life

Following in the same vein, Arctic Zero recently released a plant-based, non-dairy ice cream. Rather than milk and cream, Artic Zero incorporates faba bean protein and is sweetened with organic cane sugar and monk fruit. National distribution won’t be available until later this year, so if you’re looking for your Arctic Zero ice-cream fix, you’ll need to head over to a Publix Grocery store where it first debuted in August. Nine flavors are available in the range: chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel, cookie shake, purely chocolate, cake batter, brownie blast, cookie dough chunk, hint of mint, and cherry chocolate chunk.

Kashi Crew Kids On The Block

Kashi recently released a line of organic cereals, Kashi w/ Kids, co-created by kids aged 12 to 17 years old known as the “Kashi Crew”. The cereal bites are described as “swirls” and “filled pillows” and the flavors include berry crumble, honey cinnamon, and cocoa crisp. The cereal also touts the inclusion of whole grains, organic ingredients and fiber, appealing to health-conscious kids and adults. Kashi apparently hopes its cereal will be a big hit with healthy-minded parents looking to avoid traditional cereals with high sugar content in their children’s diets.

It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Skippy, a Hormel Foods owned company, has introduced peanut butter and jelly fruit snacks. Containing 4 grams of protein in each serving, Skippy P.B Fruit Bites will be available in strawberry and grape. Unlike traditional fruit snacks, these P.B. Fruit Bites will feature pieces of dried fruit which are then coated in Skippy peanut butter.

Okay Maple, I See You!

As if Quaker Instant Oatmeal didn’t already offer some seriously amazing flavors, they came out with three new mouthwatering flavors: Peanut Butter & Banana, Peanut Butter & Honey, and Banana & Maple. These three new flavors add to their instant oatmeal portfolio of roughly 38 variants.

Maple has yet again made its way into dairy, but this time with…cheese? Some savory and sweet combinations work and Boursin certainly put their money where their mouth is with their new Boursin Maple Bourbon Gournay Cheese. Parent company, Bel Brands USA, has added this unique combination to their Boursin line-up and it’s said to offer creamy, crumbly cheese with sweet notes of maple and rich hints of bourbon.

Now here is a fun and intriguing combination: Jasmine and Maple. US-based Runamok Maple has added this to their already existing 12 flavor line-up. New Jasmine-Tea Infused Maple Syrup is created just like all of their other variants: infused, smoked, and then aged in barrels which brings out that rich maple flavor with hints of the fragrant jasmine flower. Just like any other authentic maple syrup on the market, this flavor will also send consumers digging deep in their pockets with a price of roughly $17 for 250ml.

Quest Nutrition has hopped on the train of popular flavors with their recent releases of a Cold Brew Coffee Latte Protein Powder and Maple Waffle Protein Bars. With fall finally here, these new flavors are anything but a coincidence. The new Cold Brew Coffee Latte Protein Powder contains whey protein isolate, as well as real cold brew extract, and each serving made from the powder contains 24g of protein, 3g of net carbs and less than 1g of sugar. Meanwhile, the new Maple Waffle Protein Bar contains 20g of protein, 16g of fiber, 5g of net carbohydrates and 1g of sugar, and is filled with waffle–like pieces.

Bear Naked, Inc., has debuted two new flavored granolas inspired by the fall season: The Pumpkin Spice mix features cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin seeds, and white chocolate, while the Pecan Pie variety has glazed praline pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon, caramel, and bits of piecrust.

Total Health Nut

Founded in 2013 by two competitive athletes, Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest, Epic Provision’s vision was clear: provide a convenient way to add nourishing animal protein into the diets of health-conscious consumers. In 2016, General Mills acquired Epic Provisions taking them under their guidance and leadership, leading to a July 2018 release of a new line of healthy protein bars. Made with cage-free egg whites, nuts, dried fruit, and no added sugar, Epic Provisions debuted four flavors: peanut butter, peanut butter chocolate, almond butter chocolate, and lemon.

Fall Into A Deep Ketosis With These Bars

The Keto diet emphasizes weight loss through fat-burning. The goal is to quickly lose weight and ultimately feel fuller with fewer cravings, while boosting your mood, mental focus and energy otherwise known as “ketosis”. With this diet gaining some momentum in the weight-loss industry, it’s no surprise that Dang Foods Co. has introduced three plant-based, Keto-certified Dang Bars in almond vanilla, lemon matcha and chocolate sea salt varieties.

This Time (Baby), We Can All Be Bulletproof

The first of its kind, Picnik answered prayers of all bulletproof coffee drinkers back in July with their product Picnik Coffee Creamer. A trend that has been popular in paleo diets, Picknik has pioneered a creamer that is infused with grass-fed butter, whey protein sourced from New Zealand, and Medium Chain Triglycerides (derived from coconuts) to offer consumers the benefits of healthy fats and sustained energy.

Dahlicious New Drinkables

Slow-cultured yogurt, or Lassi, is an Indian tradition which has now made its way to the US. Dahlicious Organic,  a US-based company, recently introduced new single-serve portions of its ready-to-drink Lassi. This high-probiotic drink comes in two varieties: alphonso mango and field strawberry.

Power House Combination

Groovy Food Company recently released a new type of coconut oil to the UK market: Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Infused with Turmeric. Coconut oil and turmeric offer powerful benefits, including healthy saturated fats, anti-inflammatory effects, and strong antioxidant properties. Considering the versatility and popularity of coconut oil, this product might just be the next staple in household pantries!

Sources