KANSAS CITY — Consumer packaged goods manufacturers are crafting collections of premium products featuring regional flavors and single-origin ingredients.
Unilever P.L.C.’s Tazo tea brand has introduced a new Foragers Edition collection inspired by local flavors from four different regions of the U.S. The elderberry blackberry tea is inspired by New England and includes a blend of tart elderberry and notes of blackberry. Inspired by the Rocky Mountains, Tazo’s juniper mint honey flavor features juniper berries, mint and honey.
Tazo’s prickly pear cactus tea is inspired by the Southwest and combines prickly pear flavor with tart hibiscus flowers. Inspired by the Midwest, the wild apple sarsaparilla tea is a slightly sweet blend of sarsaparilla and wild apple.
Nestle S.A. is debuting the Nestle Toll House Artisan Collection, a line of premium baking chips made with single-origin chocolate from Ghana. Available in extra semi-sweet (48% cacao) and extra dark (61% cacao) varieties, the morsels offer a “rich chocolate flavor and roasted notes,” Nestle said.
“Cocoa beans are the top agricultural export from Ghana; its rich soil is ideal for growing the intensely aromatic cocoa that is captured in these new premium baking chips,” says Ruth Braden, associate marketing manager for Nestle Toll House. “Made with chocolate sourced from a single origin delivers a premium chocolate to the Nestle Toll House portfolio.”
Niman Ranch has joined forces with Fat Tire Brewery to launch the Fat Tire BBQ Collection, an assortment of premium beer-infused, fully cooked beef and pork barbecue products. Featuring Niman Ranch pork and beef infused with Fat Tire Amber Ale, the lineup includes shredded beef, beer bratwursts in beef and cheddar flavors, pulled pork and St. Louis-style pork ribs.