Innovative suppliers are guiding retailers and shoppers into an exciting future for the industry
Tomato suppliers are experimenting with new vines and varietals that lead with bold, sweet and juicy flavors. The diversity in flavor profiles allows for more consumers to taste test within the category. Finding the right level of sweet flavor or crisp texture makes meal prep easier for home cooks to slice and dice the ideal types of tomatoes to complement spicy salsas, bold pasta sauces, crisp salads and savory grill fare from kabobs to burgers.
“NatureSweet is known for the best snacking tomatoes in the world, and it starts with our dedication to flavor,” said Director of Marketing Amit Patel. “With flavor at the forefront, we have recently launched NatureSweet Adora, which is a premium line of heirloom tomatoes that we found out of Spain and partnered with a great seed company to grow for a strong retail partner. We’re also always looking to revamp our existing items with new and flavorful combinations. Our Constellation medley has continued to expand into seasonal packs which have fun themes, labels, promotions, and package designs, but also differing combinations of tomatoes. Along with these great seasonal packs we have relevant promotions that add fun digital and instore consumer engagement like our Snack Like a Champ promotion, which was a great success and drove sales and engagement during the football season.”
most recent partnership with Fanatics as part of our Snack Like a Champ promotion or our Instant Pop partnership during the holiday season. Packaging continues to be an initiative that we
two tomato categories is earmarked for that acreage.”
Tomato varieties that elevate both the category and snack time, and smart packaging that fits into busy, constantly on-the-move daily routines are some of the consumer preferences fueling category growth.
“The IFPA recently performed a case study on our company regarding our efforts around sustainability which was released in January. This study highlights many of the initiatives we have put into action for the last several years to transform the agricultural industry. It’s not just a phrase that we say 'transforming the lives of agricultural workers in North America,' but we’ve actually put plans into action and this case study is proof of the work that we’re doing in communities and within the industry to transform lives.” — Amit Patel, NatureSweet
have dedicated cross functional teams working on to help drive sustainability. We already have our retail 10 ounce packs in 100 percent recycled material so that we’re not adding more plastics to landfills. We’re also continuing to look for more sustainable packaging options that still allow us to serve the best quality product to our consumers and don’t limit shelf life and quality. We launched To Go within the last year and that has a really great story for packaging and convenience. We developed a fully washed and ready-to-eat line that allows consumers to just pop open our package and snack away. This pack is also perfectly breathable and allows for refrigeration.”
Strengthening partnerships and building relationships remains a priority for the company as they adapt to stay ahead of any challenges they may face. “We continue to develop partnerships across our supply chain from packaging development, seed companies, material suppliers, and customers,” Patel continued. “Many of our customer partnerships have been extremely successful and have resulted in finding what works best for their shoppers and launching it into market. We also have many brand partnerships such as our
As for new product development, Red Sun Farms is launching a new premium mini sweet pepper called Tatayoyo. “Red Sun Farms continuously strives for innovation, efficiencies and growth,” said Director of Marketing and Packaging Leona Neill. “This new pepper is packed with flavor intensity, sweetness, and is certainly one of the most fragment peppers that you have ever cut into. Our commitment to growth continues with Red Sun Farms recently acquiring additional property for future expansion. Increased production capacity of tomato varietals was the largest driver for the acquisition. A little too early to lay out our plans in detail but growth in at least
“We have noticed that there is continuous growth in packaged and premium items,” Patel said. “This can be seen by the commanding share that snacking tomatoes has of the total tomato category and the strong growth in the Cherry-onthe-Vine segment. NatureSweet is capitalizing on this with our newest improvement to the NatureSweet D’Vines line, with a better-than-ever new Cherry-on-theVine variety. We will also continue to expand and grow this segment with best-tasting new variety extensions. Also, seasonally relevant items driven by Constellation Seasonal Medley have driven growth in the medley category and are now an annual tradition. The biggest opportunity area for the category is on-the-go snacking. With most consumers eating tomatoes at home or at restaurants, the market for lunches and on-the-go snacks is large. This will drive incremental growth and thus could drive strong growth in snacking tomatoes and the total tomato category. NatureSweet is developing this opportunity with the launch of Cherubs and Constellation to Go snack packs.”
Windset Farms foresees trends that will influence the course of the category. “We expect to see an increasing trend towards snacking varieties that may be different than the tomatoes people are familiar with,” VP of Sales Jeff Madu previously said. “Consumers' palates are evolving. We’re seeing the industry move towards exploratory tomato varieties. Trialing and growing new varieties are not new to Windset, however, bringing these varieties to market as standalone products is something we didn’t see the demand for 10 years ago.”
Apple growers and suppliers are doing their due diligence to ensure their retailers have a continued, reliable year-round of supply, especially given that the collective apple crop from last year is down. This lower volume, coupled with continued inflation hitting both suppliers in terms of production costs and consumers at the grocery store in the form of higher prices, presents challenges but also opportunities for growers to promote lesser-known and even brand-new apple varieties to budget-wary shoppers who are still looking for value in their purchasing decisions.
“Industry-wide, the 2022 apple crop is down roughly 20 percent over last season, which is the biggest challenge we are facing this season,” said Chuck Sinks, Sage Fruit President, Sales and Marketing. “Increased prices in our case are more so affected by the lack of supply, while still maintaining the same demand. Things may feel a bit tight throughout the winter and spring, but our goal is to make sure we have high-quality, year-round availability for our retail partners.”
Strategic partnerships are one way that Sage Fruit is aiming to meet that goal. “This apple season, Chelan Fruit joined the Sage Fruit family of grower, packer, shippers to enhance the marketing, sales and distribution of their Washington-grown tree fruit,” he said. “Through this partnership, Sage Fruit added considerable volume of conventional and organic apples to our manifest. With this great partnership, we have the opportunity to market and sell SugarBee apples. The Sugar Bee is an outstanding apple that consumers have come to know and love.”
Starr Ranch Growers will be bringing its new variety Karma to the table, according to Dan Davis, Director of Business Development. “This is the first year of production that we can roll out to multiple markets,” he said. “We’re excited about adding this later season storage apple to the lineup for our retail partners. This season has been one of new opportunities lending fuel to the category. With a down volume overall it has allowed newer varieties to shine
and get in front of consumers.”
Honeybear Growers is preparing to unveil its latest innovation, the Honeymoon apple.
“We are getting ready to introduce Honeymoon apple which is a butter cream colored apple with a great tropical fruit flavor,” said VP of Sales and Marketing Don Roper. “This is a very exciting apple because it hits the three key attributes we are looking for in new varieties: great appearance, wonderful flavor and strong brand name. We think we have all three and have large commercial orchards coming online with more to be planted out. Additionally, our varietal development pipeline has four more varieties in our global testing program that have the potential to have a big impact on the marketplace.”
Roper said the company is also continuing to strengthen its production infrastructure to ensure reliable supply.
“This past year we have added a key production partner in Sparta, MI—Elite Apple Company,” he said. “The Elite team of growers are second and third generation apple growers producing premium apples in one of the best growing regions in the Midwest. We look forward to our partnership with Elite to continue to provide Honeybear supply solutions to our key retail partners.”
Stemilt Growers is backing up its novel apple offerings with a robust promotional program to support its retailers.
“The key for apples going forward is going to be in setting the right mix of products for the right times and planning promotions that drive consumers to purchase,” said Marketing Director Brianna Shales. “At Stemilt, we are obsessive about fine-tuning our variety mix and will be strong in club apples and organics in the coming years. These are still in demand with consumers, and we will partner with retailers to come up with new merchandising strategies, packaging, etc. to drive consumer purchase, and of course quality that will drive their satisfaction.”
There is also a unique and simple story to promoting apples, said Davis with Starr Ranch Growers.
“Our focus has been to make sure the durability and usefulness of fresh
apples is highlighted,” he said. “During times of focus on the value proposition of fresh produce, apples can reliably be bought and used without waste. Their durability on the shelf and in the home is as close to a guarantee that what a consumer buys will actually get consumed. That’s something that many commodities in the produce department aren’t able to offer.”
Waste, and by extension packaging, has been a subject the apple industry has continued to grapple with, and like Starr Ranch Growers’ initiative to revisit its plastic packaging, Stemilt Growers has similarly unveiled its new solution.
“We launched a new sustainable package, called EZ Band,” said Shales. “It brings four apples into a paperboard package for apples that has great visibility to the fruit and is 100 percent recyclable. We’ve rolled it out for jumbo sized apples in club varieties and organics and will add other sizes in the future. It is a great solution to help retailers merchandise larger apples in a graband-go package. It also helps ensure the register rings up premium items like organics correctly because it is UPC based instead of price per pound.”
The industry’s focus on sustainable packaging represents just a fraction of environmental initiatives undertaken as consumers increasingly are shopping their conscience in their purchasing decisions. Cynthia Haskins, President and CEO of New York Apple Association, which promotes New York grown apples, said part of the story for the increasing cost of food is in transportation.
“Freight is a large cost and retailers can save by sourcing closer to their operation,” she said. “Consumers want to know where their food comes from, and New York state apple growers are located closer to many of the densely populated cities in the country—so it makes sustainable sense to source apples closest to markets. The New York Apple Association focuses on bringing attention to the trade and to consumers that New York State is the second largest producer of apples and are a closer source for them for apples.”
The cookies category has evolved in complexity and perception. Many consumers have been conditioned since childhood to view cookies as sweet indulgent treats and in adulthood resolved to give them up in the interest of better health. Yet the grip that snack manufacturers have on the consumer psyche is strong given the recent explosion of better-for-you snacks and treats. While some brands are fully invested in delivering healthier sweets options— some of them crossing over from adjacent categories like crackers—others continue to cater to the nostalgia for unadulterated decadence with the expectation that the consumer knows how to incorporate their products into a well-balanced, sensible diet.
Consumers, of course, are not monoliths. Randy Adams with Huck’s Market convenience stores, has more than 120 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, said so far, demand for items like gluten-free or vegan cookies has not reached its marketing area. “I think this might be stronger in supermarkets, but in the c-store environment, it simply isn’t a driving force.”
Huck’s locations do merchandise better-for-you cookie options in a separate area than its traditional cookie offerings, and products like Lenny & Larry’s, Quest, Whey2Be seem to be doing well, Adams said. “The traditional cookies still outperform the better-for-you, but the gap is closing,” he said.
In both cases, however, growth has been stagnant, he said. “Right now, the traditional cookie brands are not growing, and the profit they generate per store is low,” Adams said. “I have tried a variety of lower retail items to try to bring customers back to the category but have not had much success. Our snack cake section is so strong that I believe it is taking everyday sales away from the cookie category.”
And Hostess Brands is making sure it continues to supply those snack cake innovations that live outside of the better-for-you world. The company announced its Kazbars, a first-of-its-kind candy-bar-inspired innovation within the snack cakes market last month. Described as combining layers of soft
chocolate cake, crème, candy crunch and caramel or smooth chocolate fudge, “the bars are covered in a rich chocolate-flavored coating and topped with a delightful drizzle for an afternoon treat the whole family will enjoy.”
"We know that consumers are craving multitextured snacks—and the variety of creamy, crunchy and rich layers in our new Kazbars will make every snacking experience a more joy-filled one," said Christopher Balach, General Manager of Hostess Brands, LLC. "This new kind of snack delivers the familiar, moist Hostess cake consumers know and love with a new, delicious fusion of layers and textures. The snack has performed strongly with consumers throughout product-testing, and we're excited to see that translate in the marketplace."
While Hostess products are hard to ignore, C-store owners might have a better chance of catching a shopper’s eye with cookie brand Muddy Bites, which banks on consumers’ strong sense of nostalgia when seeking sweet snacks and specifically, the desire to relive the sensation of enjoying the bottom bite of a sundae cone. “Our plan is to bring continued disruption into the category by creating unique platforms and flavors,” President Michael Parisi said. “In particular, we are focused on nostalgic indulgent treats where we feel we can put a new fresh spin on things.”
Muddy Bites’ Waffle Cone Snacks are available in milk, dark and white chocolate flavors, and Parisi last summer said chocolate consumption continues to propel the adjacent chocolate confections category forward. “The chocolate confection category remains strong, driven by Millennials and Gen Z who are consuming more chocolate in 2022 indicating continued excitement and momentum for the category in 2023.”
Further, consumers are coming around to achieving a sense of balance when it comes to more indulgent snacks, he said. “Consumers are changing their mentality about indulgence,” he said. “They are more open to ‘treating’ themselves as part of a balanced lifestyle. New flavors and platforms are going to continue to drive people to this
category.”
While this resonates with a certain segment of consumers, better-for-you snack manufacturers on the crackers and savory snacks side are nonetheless testing the waters with sweets offerings of their own. Last year, Mary’s Gone Crackers jumped into the better-for-you cookie space with its Mary’s Gone Kookies graham-style snacks.
“Our mission is to be not just a cracker company but to be a better-for-you snack,” Director of Marketing Carla King said. “That was one of the things that led us into the cookies space. We’ve focused with our marketing and sales, where can we go with keeping the promises of organic and gluten-free and vegan as well. To us, we see a lot of opportunity and upsale and dipping our toe into the water. We have a lot of things coming once we get increased capacity. It’s rather exciting.”
Meanwhile, Effie’s Homemade’s biscuits—described as “more refined than a cookie, more dynamic than a cracker” and originally known as an oatcake— also fill a niche for consumers looking for a combination of nostalgia and flavor. “Our original Oatcakes remain the top seller,” Marketing Manager Mallory Amory shared last summer. “Their simplicity in flavor and ingredients is reminiscent of a favorite family recipe —which it is—and makes it a consumer favorite.”
Last year, Effie’s Homemade’s Walnut Biscuits received a sofi Award for best new product in the cookie and snack bar category. “So far six of our eight flavors have won a sofi Award,” Amory said. “We’re going for all eight .”
The sweet-salty nature of these biscuits may stump retailers in terms of the best places to display them in store. “Effie’s biscuits are unique and perform best when placed in specialty cheese and deli departments,” Amory suggested. “They provide excellent cross-merchandising potential, complementing any cracker set versus competing with existing brands. As premium products, the line drives incremental sales and delivers solid margins to our retail partners.”
Bison has been pegged as a notable alternative for various meat options for consumers who may be looking for more protein, nutrients and minerals. Many have come to experiment with bison by including it in their weekly meals in an attempt to broaden their palates and meals while cooking from home.
Great Range Bison remained committed to providing delicious, premium quality bison to retail partners and consumers throughout all the obstacles that the industry has been facing as of late. While the company mentioned it has been a rougher start to the year, they have been able to strengthen relationships while continuing to offer retailers low prices on bison products. “We haven’t raised our prices for retailers in brick-and-mortar since 2020, we found efficiencies in different processes throughout the plant to help with these increased costs,” said Director of Sales, Cory Schmeling. “We are seeing it across the board in box costs, packaging, etc. but we have found some efficiencies and we are seeing some retailers wanting to get a lower price, but we haven’t raised our prices while other proteins have, and now they are coming back down.”
said, we still believe the best way to grow is to do things right, stay consistent in our values, and stay consistent with price. We have worked very hard over the first part of 2022 to keep our
“We are seeing key words called out, sustainable, regenerative, but we are seeing consumers watch what they are buying with inflation. We might see a decline in foodservice with people trying to save money and cook from home again with this inflation, but we are behind our quality and our brand and consumers know the Great Range brand.” — Cory Schmeling, Great Range Bison
retail ground bison consistent in price. We have looked for other lines of revenue to offset our product cost coupled with internal efficiencies of operating our facilities. So far, we have succeeded but it sure is becoming more difficult with the increased cost of labor, packaging and freight.”
As consumers become more familiar with the category, companies like Blackwing Meats are striving to provide consumers with variety and convenient options. “We are introducing elk, venison, bison and wild boar chili: a 5-minute heat and serve product. A complete line of brats in all game and organic proteins,” said Roger Gerber, President of Blackwing Meats. “We are fortunate to have the resources necessary to supply both our existing and potential new customers.”
Recently, the company has been focusing on the positives and diving into the possibilities in spite of the challenges. “I guess a lot of what we do is talk about the positives that our business can provide,” said COO Ace Ward. “There’s a lot of positives in the meat and on the bison on the landscape too. There’s a lot of challenges we work through. Whether it’s animal welfare or activists, we just try and talk about the positives of how we run our business and the product that we are selling and how it’s good to continue to eat bison because it helps.”
“We are always looking for new ideas or better ways to do things, to innovate our products, or market ourselves uniquely,” Ward told Grocery Insight in a previous interview. “With that being
Great Range Bison has been known for meeting retailers where they are at and ensuring their demands are met so they can in turn, provide solutions for their consumers’ needs and preferences. “So, our main one that we are doing is just the 8-count case, currently we are doing a 12 count and that’s just to help our retailers with shrink,” said Schmeling. “So, just a smaller count going into each of their stores is what we are looking at. We are seeing a lot more retailers wanting a smaller unit count per case, so we are listening and that’s what we are focusing on right now.”
Looking at trends, the company has noticed many consumers want to know that their products are responsibly sourced and the company they are buying from uses sustainable practices when possible. “We are seeing key words called out, sustainable, regenerative, but we are seeing consumers watch what they are buying with inflation,” Schmeling continued. “We might see a decline in foodservice with people trying to save money and cook from home again with this inflation, but we are behind our quality and our brand and consumers know the Great Range brand.”
While recent events and trends have been contributing to the growth and evolution of the category, leaders in the bison category work year-round to provide their retail partners and consumers quality meat. Alongside this, educating potential newcomers to the category has been a priority for companies like High Plain Bison. “Education is very important, but it doesn’t mean that it needs to be difficult,” said Dan Swartz with High Plains Bison. “We’ve built engaging merchandising and educational components that are ready-to-go and easily implemented into a wide range of store formats. In-store education, along with beautiful packaging that’s designed to educate makes the difference. We’ve also built online education components available to our retailers. Staying up-to-date and educated on bison is important because there’s a lot of variances in product quality and we want to ensure first-time trials are exceptional. Education is an important pillar in that effort.”
“Consumers want and are demanding variety,” Swartz said. “The ‘new normal’ has created an environment where people are more comfortable trying new products. We’ve seen this new normal drawing people to bison as another great protein option. This doesn’t mean completely replacing another protein with bison, but rather adding bison to their mix. Bison is a perfect 'additional option' because of its great taste and healthy benefits.”
As healthier, better-for-you trends continue to sweep through the industry, category leaders have dedicated their time to not only providing consumers with healthy alternatives but convenient ones as well. Suppliers helming the category are giving households the opportunity to enjoy the flavors and health benefits of fresh fruit but in frozen form, so that consumers aren't set up to fail when they attempt to eat all of their fresh fruit before it spoils. Frozen fruits and vegetables allow for households to reap the health benefits of clean eating without the hassle of making several trips to the store and without racing the clock to prevent wasting food that has spoilt.
Wawona Frozen Foods has been directing its efforts towards keto blends —fusing health attributes with satisfying flavors—and responding to Gen X and Gen Y consumers who continually demand convenience from the frozen fruits and vegetables category. “We are doing a lot of different things,” Wawona Frozen Foods President Bill Smittcamp previously said. “Whether it’s prepackaged bowls of acai or an oatmeal blend with our fresh frozen fruit on top. Or single serve smoothies that are continuing to grow. Here we’re buying A-grade fruit when all they’re going to do is grind it up. And so, we’re trying to figure out how to really customize some of our blends. We have a piece of equipment here that is making virtually an ice cube so we take a very chunky fruit puree, whether it’s peaches with strawberries, we’re taking mango bits and pieces and turning it into a chip.”
The frozen fruits and vegetables category is going to grow in step with the consumers who have disposable income, Townsend Farms President Mike Townsend previously said. “I would say right now those are going to grow with the segment that’s got spendable dollars,” Townsend said. “That will be the Boomers. There’s maybe 20 percent of them left. They’ll keep growing that sector and most of them want to be happy. They want to drop a few pounds. The rest of the folks, I don’t know. The rest of the people in their diet will they be willing to pay the price for frozen—organic
or conventional. If we stress health and exercise, those people will eat smarter. I would say that we’re intuitive at putting fruit on all those different things. We’ve reached a point of maturity in that category.”
One of Seal the Seasons’ latest innovation was its smoothie kits. “Our smoothie kits are basically a convenient and easy way to make a smoothie shop quality smoothie at home without a lot of extra ingredients,” Seal The Seasons CEO Patrick Mateer previously said. “We’ve combined our best locally grown fruits with super food gem. Each bag you get is a berry blend, it’s delicious locally grown fruit. And then these super food gems throughout which depending on the flavor, like we have a plant-protein mix, the super food gems in there are pea protein, plant protein powder and powdered almond milk. All you do is add water, blend it up and suddenly you have a delicious plant protein strawberry banana smoothie. We’re really excited to bring these easy and functional smoothies to more Americans and help more people start their smoothie journey and explore more of the category. We wanted to make this product accessible and easy to try and a value product as well.”
Seal The Seasons is driving the category forward through “growing same store velocity, introducing more consumers to our core locally grown frozen fruits whether that’s continuing to partner with our retailers and merchandise the products well, offering these new varieties which will excite consumers and getting them to look further into the category,” Mateer said. “We really want to introduce these Ruby Junes. Show people that frozen food can be differentiated and a little bit special just like the Honeycrisp apple. With the innovation, we think there’s a lot more growth in this category. There’s a lot more innovative and better for you offerings that we can make it more convenient for people. Doing more value add and doing more innovation that is going to drive further category growth for our retailers. Just delivering the product every single time, on time. Often that can really drive category growth. In early 2022, we had
a store fill out the entire shelf with our product because they couldn’t get it from anyone else. The power of local farmers and keeping the supply chain regional and in our community.”
At a time when suppliers are humbled by supply chain bottlenecks and inflationary pressures now more than ever, Wawona Frozen Foods is grateful for the partnerships it has established and nurtured. “Because of our relationship with the respective buyers, and us being a family-owned operation, we can call up the buyers and tell them what’s going on hopefully ahead of time,” Smittcamp said. “It’s all about communication and knowing what’s coming down the track. I don’t think we could pull many more rabbits out of our hats for excuses that we haven’t already used for the last 18 months or at least for the last year since whenever diesel started going up. The communication to our customers has been truthful and that’s how we’ve grown Wawona from a small company to where we are today. I’m a hands-on boss and I’ll go out and see something and ask, ‘What happened here?’ And I say well good, but I have 50 years of experience so why don’t you come in and say this is down and I might come up with a little bit better opportunity.”
Seal The Seasons implores retailers and consumers to remember that when they’re frustrated with delays and product shortages to remember “there’s a human on the other side of the computer screen and the telephone,” Mateer said. “I think we’re all trying the best we can to create the world we want to live in. I hope so. One of our core values here at Seal the Seasons is that we believe that if we want to change something about the world, if we’re passionate about it and we try hard enough, we can create that change. It doesn’t always happen overnight. You must be patient with people. You must come to people on their terms. But you must remember that everyone is human. We’ll occasionally get a call from someone who had a smushed berry in their bag. We treat them with kindness and it’s crazy how far that gets you when people apologize for their tone.”
From chops, ribs and tenderloins to bacon, ham, sausages and assorted charcuterie options, leading suppliers in the pork category have a lot to offer the market in 2023. While offering variety is important to help increase basket size for grocery retailer partners, pork suppliers are going a step further to research and build exclusive programs that not only provide premium quality meats but also appeal to consumers’ growing tendency to shop conscientiously, exercising their values for supporting domestic farmers and animal welfare with their pocketbooks.
Online meat company Good Ranchers, which has been in business since 2018 starting with pop up shops at retail before going fully online, this year launched its first primary pork offering, said Chief Operating Officer Jermain Gil. “We’ve done a holiday ham in the past but at the end of March we’ll be launching our very first primary pork offering so we’re extremely excited about it,” he said.
Part of the excitement is due to the company’s securing partnerships with domestic farms who will follow raising protocols to reduce the concern of trichinosis, also called trichinellosis according to the CDC, caused by consuming raw or undercooked meats. “We’re using one of the USDA-verified farms that were really excited about the quality,” Gil said. “It’s off the charts. It gives the ability to cook the pork like you would cook a steak, so more medium, medium rare, which makes a huge difference in the taste. We have a mix. We’re doing the bone-in and boneless center pork chops.”
Gil explained the pork program, “We were looking at the pork offering a little bit different that our beef. Our beef is all center of the plate. With our pork, we’re looking at it more like an ingredients offering. Here’s some Italian sausage to make a spaghetti or something else. Here’s smoked bratwurst to go alongside your grilled chicken breast. And Perry’s restaurant is big in Texas. We’re also doing a steakhouse style pork chop which is a larger thick cut pork chop.”
Good Ranchers’ pork program comes at an opportune time as Gil said he fore-
sees supply issues with beef this year. “With the fear of inflation, tight budgets, less going out to eat, pork is considered a cheaper protein so that’s one of the reasons we’re trying to offer pork is to give them this little bit of a cheaper protein,” he said. “But also, during Covid, we saw that consumers really learned how to make restaurant type meals at home since restaurants were closed. Part of that is quality proteins and pork offerings in restaurants are big so with our steakhouse style pork chop that’s a direct response to those thick cut porkchops you get at a steakhouse. The trends we’re seeing is 1) they’re looking for a cheaper protein but 2) they’re also looking for restaurant style cuts and the selections that we made for our pork box is tailored for a consumer that is looking for a slightly better deal, but also looking for quality product they can also serve their family.”
Meanwhile, Niman Ranch, known for adhering to its four pillars of supporting small family farmers, humane animal care, sustainable agriculture and great tasting meats and which first became known to consumers through its appearances on restaurant menus, is growing its overall pork portfolio as well with the debut of its Iberian Duroc pork program this year.
“This is the first time in history that Niman Ranch has launched a breed-specific pork program in our 40-year history,” said Kay Cornelius, Niman Ranch’s VP of Retail Sales. “We’ve always focused on heritage breeds at Niman Ranch because they’re adaptable to our outdoor raising systems and we work with our small family farmers here in the US. However, we started work on this project about five years ago seeking out what will bring consumers to Niman Ranch for the next 10 years and we searched the world over for these genetics that would elevate the Niman Ranch pork eating experience, which is already elevated, to a whole new level but with the pork breeds suitable for our family farmers to raise in outdoor raising conditions that would meet all of our humane animal care criteria, that wouldn’t have to be raised in confinement like other breed-specific pork
programs are. Ours are pasture-raised Iberian Duroc, it’s the best of the best from a meat quality and we are launching it with retailers right now. It’s totally different from the Berkshire and the Kurobata and other brands that you hear out in the pork world. And we are the exclusive owner of these genetics. It’s elevated taste. Consumers want to have pork chops and pork roast with great taste and they can find it at Niman Ranch, and they specifically can find it with this newly launched Iberian pork program that we have. It’s chops, it’s roasts, it’s ribs. It’s all of the fresh meats, and then we’re coming out with charcuterie made with the Iberian legs; this is one-of-a-kind and it’s something that we can do at scale for our partner retailers.”
There is also an expansion of existing pork lines, she said.
“We have some of the best sellers according to SPINS data in the sausage category with our sweet Italian or hot Italian and apple gouda sausage but consumers always variety and so we have launched a new smoked bratwurst and a Bavarian style bratwurst,” she said. “Both are in the bratwurst category, but our shoppers can now choose between the two and really find something delightful in the category, something different than their main space smoked sausage. Innovation doesn’t just end with a fresh pork chop.”
Though product offerings are diverse Niman Ranch has through its history ensured it supported its partner small family farmers by committing to purchasing the whole animal, even in challenging times.
“There’s a lot of pork brands out there that I call pieces and parts companies,” Cornelius said. “They buy the pieces and they put them together into a package. We buy that whole pig—we commit to that farmer. We don’t just buy pieces and parts that have certain value attributes. We define the value attributes and ask those farmers to raise to those standards. And we buy the whole animal, and we commit to that farmer. And I think that’s part of our trust and integrity on the pork side is we’ve done that now for 40 years.”
The drink mixes category is led by companies that are realistic and action-oriented when challenges outside of their control arise. Drink mix companies are staying the course of offering thirst quenching flavor profiles and products that mesh with healthier eating habits and activity levels that require more than water to replace electrolytes and beat dehydration.
“2023 is an exciting year for us, with numerous new product launches offering maximum value at a time when it matters most,” said Nancy Samani, Vice President of Licensing at The Jel Sert Company. “With limited budgets, consumers want to make purchases they trust will deliver on taste and quality. This has always been our focus with our leading drink mix brands, Wyler’s Light and Pure Kick, as well as licensed brands.”
At Jel Sert, regardless of economic challenges constraining virtually every corner of the manufacturing side of the industry, the company is dedicated to consistenly offering high quality products at fair and attainable prices. “We
mixes with Church and Dwight offer meaningful levels of vitamins, electrolytes, and energy at an attainable price point. With these items, Jel Sert has proven that high-function products can still taste good.”
“Functionality continues to be a key growth driver in the drink mix category. At a time when price is a priority for consumers, we have always differentiated ourselves by offering functional drink mixes that don’t compromise on value or taste. Our Pure Kick brand is the No. 1 functional drink mix in the value channel, offering energy and hydration ‘for the rest of us’. Jel Sert has proven that high-function products can still taste good.”
— Nancy Samani, The Jel Sert Company
“Jel Sert holds licensed partnerships with leading CPG brands such as Skittles, Starburst, Jolly Rancher, Sunkist, Vitafusion, Welch’s, Hi-C, and many more,” Samani said. “Our licensed brands are trusted by consumers for flavor and quality, making for easy purchase decisions. We continue to build on these successful licensed programs with line extensions, including Skittles Wild Berry, Jolly Rancher Lemonade, and Starburst Duos Drink Mixes. We are proud of our licensed programs and have built long-term relationships by treating our licensed partners like family.”
At the beginning of March, Celsius announced the launch of its latest flavor, Fantasy Vibe. To kick off the unveiling, the company hosted an oceanfront event complete with dinner, flaming cocktails and fire dancers against the backdrop of a social media-worthy sunset. The company’s new Sparkling Fantasy Vibe concoction is a mix between savory and sweet mandarin and marshmallow. Likened to an orangesicle, the Fantasy Vibe offers a burst of bright citrus followed by a not-too-sweet marshmallow after taste.
understand how important it is to earn and keep the consumer’s trust,” Samani said. “For us, that means sticking to our promise of making incredible products at an affordable price, even amid economic challenges such as inflation. We’ve been able to deliver on this promise for nearly a century, and we don’t plan on switching course anytime soon, regardless of economic headwinds.”
“Our commitment to our retailers is held up by how we operate,” she added. “Our vertically integrated manufacturing model allows us to control every aspect of the production process, including R&D, marketing, manufacturing, packaging, and delivery. This gives us more flexibility to control costs and offer the best value to all parties.”
Jel Sert has observed the entrance of more players in the drink mixes space and continues to stand apart from metoo and bandwagon competitors by melding functionality with refreshing and quenching flavor profiles. “Functionality continues to be a key growth driver in the drink mix category, with many new entrants coming in at higher price points,” Samani said. “At a time when price is a priority for consumers, we have always differentiated ourselves by offering functional drink mixes that don’t compromise on value or taste. Our Pure Kick brand is the No. 1 functional drink mix in the value channel, offering energy and hydration ‘for the rest of us’. Our Vitafusion Infusions licensed drink
“As innovation leaders, we bring trends from other categories to drink mixes,” she continued. “We have seen a lot of consumer excitement around co-branded flavor licenses, where brands are co-branding with licensed flavors to offer unique items to the category. We are excited about the launch of our co-branded Pure Kick and Jolly Rancher Drink Mixes, which combine the energy function of Pure Kick with the signature Jolly Rancher flavors consumers know and love.”
Manufacturers across industries are pragmatic in their expectation that 2023 will continue to experience economic hardships that can thwart the best laid plans of the most driven companies. Jel Sert’s long tenure in the industry has prepared them and taught company leaders to be less reactive and more communicative and resilient to continue moving forward. “Whether for function or flavor, Drink sticks offer a convenient form factor that will always satisfy a different need-state from a ready-to-drink beverage,” Samani said. “The overall consumer demand for convenience will not slow down, and the category growth rates are a testament to this.”
“As a company that's been in business for nearly a century, we have a long history of navigating economic challenges while at the same time remaining steadfast in our commitment to meeting consumer demands,” she added. “We are staying ahead of the curve by expanding our best-in-class powder stick capabilities, with additional production lines being added in 2023. We will continue to invest in our operational leadership, nurture our owned and licensed brands, and prioritize service to our customers and partners.”
HYDRATION & ENERGY FOR THE REST OF US
Whether you’re coming in from the top rope or just want to be at the top of your game in life, make sure you have the energy, hydration, and electrolytes you need with all the flavor and none of the sugar. Learn more at PureKick.com
