Blue Bunny releases new and returning seasonal flavors; Developed with pediatricians, Silk Kids delivers nutritional benefits; Cream Cheese Pound Cake named to Oprah’s "Favorite Things" list.
EAT. DRINK. DAIRY.
FLAVOR THAT SINGS TO CELEBRATE 50
In tandem with the company’s 50th anniversary, alouette, the cheese brand welcoming Americans to the unexpected wonders of French specialty cheeses, announced it’s rolling out the brand’s biggest creative campaign to date. Viewable across streaming TV, social, and other digital media, the New Holland, Pa.-based company’s products feature a new tagline — Flavor That Sings. Featuring est. 1974 on top of a songbird, the refreshed logo on its vibrant and playful packaging plays homage to the company’s name, alouette, which translates into lark, a songbird. Available at retailers nationwide, alouette’s product portfolio includes Double Crème Brie, a refined and approachable brie with fresh notes of cream and hazelnut; Crème de Brie; Crème Fraiche, a cultured cream featuring farm-fresh milk and cream; Crumbled Cheese; and savory spreads like Toasted Everything, Garlic & Herbs, Spinach & Artichoke and Cheesecake Spread, the brand’s new sweet, creamy and smooth spreadable cheese with “an unexpected twist.”
FROZEN HOLIDAY TREATS
Even though the weather is cold outside, that doesn’t mean one can’t enjoy a delicious frozen treat. To make the holiday season sweeter than ever, Blue Bunny, a brand of Wells Enterprises, is unveiling several new limited-time frozen treats. Manufactured in Le Mars, Iowa, out of two state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in northwest Iowa, Blue Bunny’s new and returning seasonal flavors are: Hot Cocoa Mini Swirls, a brand new mini dairy dessert dipped in a whipped cream flavored coating all inside a chocolate cone; Candy Cane Crunch Mini Bars, a snackable pink peppermint frozen dairy dessert; Frosted Sugar Cookie Scoopables, a soft-serve, fun and festive experience to enjoy straight from the freezer; and Peppermint Stick Scoopables, which is made with red and green peppermint candies and can be incorporated into frozen bars and pies, and even in one’s favorite warm holiday drinks.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
Tonya Council, the baker and entrepreneur behind Tonya's Cookies, Chapel Hill, N.C., announced that her Cream Cheese Pound Cake is included in 2024 Oprah's "Favorite Things" holiday gifts list. The baked item is featured on OprahDaily.com and in Oprah Daily's special print 2024 Holiday Edition. Tonya’s Pecan Crisp Cookies were on Oprah's coveted list in 2021. This year, most gifts have been selected from inspiring small businesses, including women-owned, Black-owned and other minority businesses around the country. The entrepreneur opened Tonya's Cookies & Bake Shop in 2023. Known for its rich, buttery flavor and perfectly moist texture, Tonya's Pound Cake is made with cream cheese and infused with a hint of lemon. Tonya has put her own twist on the original recipe from her grandmother, the late Mildred Council ("Mama Dip"), making it an authentic yet personal Southern dessert experience.
A PERFECT PAIRING OF FESTIVE FLAVORS
This holiday season, heritage brands McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream and Martinelli’s are back again with their limited edition, festive flavor collaboration: Apple Cider & Cranberry Jam. For the first time, the seasonal flavor, now a permanent seasonal offering, features co-branded holiday packaging. Built on more than 200 years of combined California heritage, the limited-edition flavor features Martinelli’s crisp, sweet and effervescent non-alcoholic Sparkling Apple Cider, that is infused into McConnell’s sweet cream ice cream, backed by ribbons upon ribbons of McConnell’s house-made, tart cranberry jam. The limited-edition flavor is available at select retailers nationwide, including Albertsons SoCal, GoPuff West Coast, Gelson’s, New Seasons and Lazy Acres, at McConnell's California Scoop Shops, and at Martinelli’s Company Store in Watsonville, Calif., for a suggested retail price of $12 for a 16-ounce pint.
WARMING, DESSERT-INSPIRED FLAVORS
Chobani and La Colombe unveiled a holiday assortment that includes the new Chobani Apple Pie Dairy Coffee Creamer, a spiced dairy creamer made from farm-fresh milk that “delivers the taste of the holiday season to your morning coffee, along with classic seasonal flavors fans can reach for again and again.” Among the returning seasonal yogurts are Holiday Nog in both Oatmilk and Greek Yogurt formats, and ready-to-drink (RTD) Draft Latte beverages. Other seasonal offerings include Chobani Flip Peppermint Perfection, which combines Vanilla Lowfat Greek Yogurt with dark chocolate cookies, peppermint chunks and pieces of dark chocolate; Chobani Oatmilk Oat Nog, a creamy holiday drink made with gluten-free oats; and year-round flavors, Chobani Peppermint Mocha Dairy Coffee Creamer, which brings rich chocolate flavors with sweet mint to brighten any cup of coffee or hot cocoa; and La Colombe Peppermint Mocha Draft Latte, available in 9-ounce and 11-ounce RTD cans made with cafe-quality frothy and creamy peppermint mocha draft latte and real cocoa.
FOR THE LOVE OF KIDS
Silk, a brand of Danone North America, introduced Silk Kids, the brand's first plant-based beverage made with an oatmilk blend crafted for children ages five and up. Silk Kids was developed with pediatricians to deliver “enhanced nutritional benefits to support growing kids flavor kids love.” Made with a unique, deliciously creamy oat and pea blend, Silk Kids delivers 8 grams of plant protein per serving to help support muscle health, DHA omega-3 and choline to help support brain health, as well as prebiotics, the company says. Silk Kids packaging also features "Spot the Bees," an interactive game on the back panel of the carton with eye-catching designs and illustrations about sustainability programs. Silk Kids is available at select retailers like Target and Wal-Mart, with a larger nationwide roll out starting in early 2025. The non-dairy milk is offered in a refrigerated multi-serve 59-ounce carton for a suggested retail price of $5.59.
WELLNESS IN WINTER
Celestial Seasonings, a brand of Boulder, Colo.-based Hain Celestial Group, announced it is adding two new Non-GMO Project Verified products with functional benefits. Crafted to inspire magical moments of delight, the brand's new Lemon Honey Drop and Sleepytime Biotin Beauty Rest teas balance unmatched taste with consumers' desire for unique products in the wellness category. Lemon Honey Drop is a caffeine-free herbal tea that combines lemon and honey with 10% daily value of vitamin C in every cup, while Sleepytime Biotin Beauty Rest is the latest innovation in the company’s Sleepytime lineup that features biotin (vitamin B7) to complement one’s self-care routine. Celestial Seasonings teas are available at such retailers nationwide as Amazon, Kroger and Walmart. Lemon Honey Drop and Sleepytime Biotin Beauty Rest teas retail for $3.59 and $4.99, respectively.
A SWEET TREAT WITH MANY TEXTURES
Among the new dairy products unveiled by Mars at the 2024 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show Expo were M&M'S Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich and SNICKERS Dark Ice Cream Bars. The new M&M'S Peanut Butter in an Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich offers a multi-texture experience that combines M&M'S Milk Chocolate Minis candies, baked sugar cookies and 100% real creamy peanut butter ice cream in one treat. SNICKERS Dark Ice Cream Bars is made with caramel, peanuts, chocolate-peanut butter ice cream, and dark chocolate designed to deliver “total ice cream satisfaction,” the company says. “At Mars, our consumer obsession has guided us to a century of success,” said Tim LeBel, president of sales at Mars Wrigley North America.
TREND-FORWARD FLAVORS
Downer’s Grove, Ill.-based Optimum Nutrition is expanding its portfolio with six new flavors across product lines including Gold Standard 100% Whey, Gold Standard Protein Shake, AMIN.O. ENERGY and Micronized Creatine Powder. Optimum Nutrition, and its parent company Glanbia Performance Nutrition, note that the brand is continuing to innovate with trend-forward flavor offerings to appeal to consumers' taste preferences and support their health and fitness needs, even adding a new co-branded flavor with Girl Scouts of the USA. The new flavors are: Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Girl Scout Thin Mints; Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Caramel Macchiato; Gold Standard Protein Shake, Strawberry; AMIN.O. ENERGY Rainbow Sherbet; AMIN.O. ENERGY Peach Mango Tango; and Micronized Creatine Powder, Blueberry Lemonade.
All images were provided by their respective companies. Used with permission. Company links available in the Editorial Index.
