New products claim upcycled ingredients, food waste reduction, regenerative agriculture support and more.
JOI is introducing Organic Oat Milk Powder, made with only USDA certified organic, gluten-free and sustainably sourced oats. Packaged in a compostable pouch, the oat milk powder lasts up to nine months — even without refrigeration — to aid in food waste reduction, JOI said. Each 11.29-oz pouch can make a gallon of oat milk when whisked with water, cutting down on carbon emissions and water waste related to shipping premade oat milk in cartons, according to the company.
“Reducing impact on the planet has always been at the heart of JOI’s mission, and the Organic Oat Powder is a major milestone in our goal to provide consumers with dairy alternatives that have as little impact on the environment as possible,” said Hector Gutierrez, chief executive officer of JOI. “As we grow, our core focus remains reducing packaging waste across all of JOI’s products, and to continuously improve our overall sustainability efforts.”
Upcycled food startup Renewal Mill has teamed with single-origin spice company Burlap & Barrel to launch a new snickerdoodle cookie mix.
Gluten-free, vegan and non-GMO, the recipe for the mix was developed by Alice Medrich, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and expert in dessert and alternative flours. The cookie mix is made with Renewal Mill’s okara flour, sourced from soybean pulp leftover from soy milk production, and Burlap & Barrel’s heirloom royal cinnamon, which is equitably sourced from smallholder farmers around the ancient Vietnamese capital city of Huế.
In March, Danone SA introduced Honest to Goodness, a new brand of plant-based creamers made with responsibly sourced ingredients.
Honest to Goodness creamers are certified vegan, keto-friendly, certified gluten-free and Non-GMO Project verified. The products feature almond milk from an almond supplier that supports pollinators, organic sugar from Brazil, coconut oil from the Philippines, vanilla from Madagascar and salt from the Himalayas. The plant-based creamers are available in three globally-inspired varieties: Madagascan Vanilla Bean, Unsweetened Madagascan Vanilla and Himalayan Salted Caramel.
Founded on a mission to support local communities where its ingredients are sourced, Honest to Goodness partnered with EARTHDAY.ORG’s The Canopy Project in Madagascar — where its vanilla is grown — to work with local tree planting partners to engage with the community to promote agroforestry, environmental literacy and economic development.
“We partner with like-minded brands and companies to bring environmental and societal impact at scale to remote communities and villages where ingredients are commonly sourced, and where the people and the planet deserve care and dedication,” said David Van Siclen, EARTHDAY.ORG’s business development manager. “Every acre planted through this program will not only help restore degraded forests but aim to provide meaningful income to local Madagascar families.”
By the end of the year, Honest to Goodness plans to source all its vanilla from Madagascar through Tambatra, a community-owned cooperative created with support from the Livelihoods Funds. The Livelihoods Funds is investing in a partnership with a Malagasy nonprofit that helps vanilla farmers have more control over the initial stages of vanilla bean processing, gain transparency into vanilla bean pricing and access to long-term vanilla bean buyers, improve yields and diversify crops through deployment of agroforestry and other sustainable agriculture practices, and engage in the conservation of natural ecosystems near their farms.
“In creating Honest to Goodness, we were passionate about developing a unique plant-based creamer that tastes delicious and also gives back to the planet and regions where we source our ingredients,” said Olivia Sanchez, vice president of marketing for coffee creamers at Danone North America. “We are on a mission to bring goodness to your coffee cup, and when you sip our globally-inspired flavors, know that we are committed to making measurable, positive impact in the communities where our high-quality ingredients are grown.”
Epic, a subsidiary of General Mills, Inc., in March launched its first bar made from beef raised using practices to reduce carbon emissions.
The Epic Beef Barbacoa-Inspired Bar is the first bar to bear the Savory Institute’s Land to Market Ecological Outcome Verifications (EOV) Seal, which illustrates the product was made using regenerative farming practices that improve soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The beef used to make the new bar is sourced from White Oak Pastures, which offsets 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions through regenerating soil practices.
The gluten-free meat snack contains 11 grams of protein and 4 grams of total carbs per serving.
Eat the Change, a new plant-based snacks company, in March launched its first retail packaged product: mushroom jerky.
The USDA certified organic jerky is made with portobello and crimini mushrooms sourced from a family farm in Kennett Square, Pa., including mushrooms that would not typically make it to retail because of their size or bruising. Eat the Change upcycles these mushrooms, marinating them in a savory splice blend and smoking them using hickory wood. The result is a plant-based jerky that evokes the flavors of traditional meat jerky and offers a 12-month shelf life.
Eat the Change Organic Mushroom Jerky is available in five varieties: Sea Salt + Cracked Pepper, Hickory Smokehouse, Maple Mustard, Habanero BBQ and Teriyaki Ginger.
In March, Grounded Foods Co. introduced cheese alternatives formulated with fermented cauliflower and hemp seeds. Products include lemon, garlic and thyme marinated goat cheese-style blocks; an onion and chives cream cheese-style spread; and an American cheese-style sauce.
Free of nuts, soy and gluten, the products were designed for flexitarians seeking to reduce dairy consumption, according to the company. Grounded Foods was founded by Australian business partners Veronica Fil, a former behavior economist, and Shaun Quade, a chef and restaurateur. The startup sources imperfect vegetables to create products that are lower-cost, nutrient-dense and environmentally sustainable.
“We’re not vegan ourselves, but we recognize that there are enormous sustainability issues surrounding dairy production,” said Ms. Fil, chief executive officer of Grounded Foods. “Our goal is to help everyday people shift away from dairy, by creating something so insanely tasty, you wouldn’t think twice about choosing it over cheddar.”
Smile Beverage Werks, a Delaware Public Benefits Corp., launched a line of compostable K-cup style coffee pods for its brand, Smile Coffee Werks, and for private label for retailers in March.
Smile Coffee Werks pods are commercially compostable, carbon neutral and made from renewable plant-based materials, according to the company. The pods are compatible with Keurig and Nespresso machines and boast a 12-month shelf life.
Made with coffee sustainably sourced through Rainforest Alliance certified farms, Smile Coffee Werks coffee pods come in three flavors: High Country, a 100% Colombian RFA coffee; Werkday, a single-origin medium roast coffee; and Woke Up, a 100% Arabica bean dark roast.
“Never has it been so easy and convenient to go green with coffee pods,” said Michael Sands, co-founder of Smile Coffee Werks. “Single-serve coffee is hugely popular but creates burdensome waste to our environment. It’s now super simple for any consumer or private label brand to have a compostable pod and start being more environmentally sustainable.”
GoodSport, a new sports nutrition beverage formulated to deliver effective hydration and clean up the category, debuted in February. The product features ingredients perceived as natural by consumers and derives many of its hydration capabilities from ingredients sourced from ultrafiltered milk.
The ultrafiltered ingredient — milk permeate — used in GoodSport formulations is often a waste component of the ultrafiltration process. Rescuing the milk permeate for the sports drink gives GoodSport an additional attribute of being upcycled.
GoodSport delivers three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks by featuring 1,600 mgs of electrolytes per 16.9 oz serving, contains 33% less sugar, provides two types of carbohydrates for optimal hydration and is shown to continue hydrating two hours after it is consumed, according to the company. The product also is a good source of calcium and an excellent source of B vitamins. It is lactose free and shelf stable.
The beverage comes in 16.9-oz single-serve bottles and four varieties: lemon lime, fruit punch, berry and citrus.
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. in February expanded its baking portfolio with two new high cacao baking chips made with sustainably sourced cacao beans: 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Chips and 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Chips.
The 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Chips are made with cocoa beans, vanilla and 50% less sugar than Ghirardelli's semi-sweet baking chips, according to the company. The 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate Chips contain no added sugar.
“We created these new baking chips to give our customers more options to choose from in the baking aisle,” said Megan Wright, senior brand manager at Ghirardelli. “We use only the best ingredients, so now, baking enthusiasts can turn to Ghirardelli to control the level and type of sweetener used in their delicious recipes.”
Jun
2024
Spring has sprung—with new sandwiches.
Category innovation is focusing on health, occasions and functional ingredients.