rently has a distribution agreement with Natural Fruition Inc., located in Ontario. “We think that consumers are looking at three things – taste, nutrition and cost,” says Kamm. “All of our Fruitfull Bars are gluten-free. The gluten-free trend seems even bigger in Canada than in the United States from what we have observed. In the frozen fruit bar industry, we find that people are interested in trying our new products because they offer a healthy alternative to sugary products. Our watermelon bar even has the seeds in it because it has whole chunks of watermelon. Consumers love that!” Frozen fruit bars do incredibly well near the front entrance and by the checkout counter at convenience stores because they are an impulse buy, says Kamm.
“People see them as they’re leaving, crave one and can grab one or two for a small amount of money,” she says. Although they sell year round, frozen novelties hit their peak during hot weather. “Novelties for the most part are an impulse purchase,” says Joe Kelsey, co-owner, Twirlees Ice Cream. “This is why sales are often much higher during the spring/summer and drop off dramatically during the winter, especially with freezers in variety stores. Most people are not thinking about purchasing an ice cream in the middle of February when they run into a convenience store to get some lottery tickets.” Novelty sales in Canada are much lower than scooped ice cream and soft serve, says Kelsey. “I personally think the novelty market is oversaturated,” says Kelsey. “The United States has much more exciting novelties produced by numerous companies. Canada is ready for exciting new novelty products. We wanted to bring a product to market that had the simplicity as a prepackaged novelty but with sales like soft ice cream and we
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