Warming weather can evoke mixed emotions that influence consumers’ food and beverage choices as some shoppers seek products that will help them look their best in sundresses and shorts and others look for indulgent treats that recall the nostalgia of summer breaks and which can help celebrate a break from routine.
Brands are rising to meet these demands with new products launching across categories including refreshing new beverages, TikTok-inspired bakery items, more inclusive kits and health-conscious shortcuts.
Macro management
Whether consumers want to slim down or bulk up for the summer, protein is an in-demand, multifunctional macronutrient that can help boost satiety and by extension curb calorie consumption or support muscle gain and fitness goals.
Daily Harvest’s Organic Pea Protein Powder launch in March offers consumers a convenient and versatile way to add 24 grams of neutral-tasting, plant-based protein per 120-calories to their diet – whether it is in smoothies, breakfast bowls or other applications. The company says the product stands out from the competition because it is “pure” and free from fillers, gums and other additives – claims it supports with third-party lab testing for heavy metals.
The launch follows Daily Harvest’s recent debut of high-protein smoothies, which it says are a “tremendous success.”
Carb-counting is another popular strategy for managing health and fitness goals that can leave some consumers feeling left out as their friends and family share foods that would push them over their limits.
Old El Paso wants to help consumers cut carbs but not the fun with the launch of several Carb Advantage items that makes taco night more inclusive. These include:
- Carb Advantage Nacho Cheese Hard Shells
- Carb Advantage Soft Tortilla
- A tortilla rounds taco kit
- Reformulated original Carb Advantage taco shells
TikTok: Summertime trends made easy
Kellanova and General Mills make it easier for consumers to replicate trendy TikTok trends that elevate sweet baked goods with products that deliver convenience and which leverage existing social media buzz to a lighter marketing lift.
General Mills this month introduced its Funfetti Celebrations Cake mix as a “budget-friendly, foolproof way to create the same eye-catching, sprinkle-loaded” cakes taking over social media and appearing in bakeries “without breaking the bank,” according to the company.
The kit, which is available at Walmart for suggested retail price of $3.98, goes beyond the company’s tried-and-true, iconic Funfetti cake mix by adding a bonus pack of sprinkles in fun shapes and colors to coat the outside of the cake. Consumers will need to buy or make frosting to “glue” the sprinkles to the outside of the cake.
Kellanova also draws inspiration from the viral TikTok trend of topping Rice Krispies Treats with salty and sweet mix-ins with the launch of its Rice Krispies Treats Bliss.
“More and more, we’re seeing fans elevate their Rice Krispies Treats bars at home with over-the-top mix-ins, from candy to pretzels. With Rice Krispies Treats Bliss, we are bringing those confection-inspired creations straight to shelves, making it easier than ever to enjoy a next-level treat whenever the craving strikes,” Danielle Rappoport, brand director for Rice Krispies Treats, said in a statement.
The line, which launches in April, includes Chocolate Sea Salt Pretzel and Caramel Sea Salt Pretzel and will be available at Walmart, Kroger and other major chains for a suggested retail price of $3.99 for a six-count box.
More is better when it comes to baking
Two brands – Pillsbury Baking and Ghirardelli – make sure there are sufficient sweets for everyone at spring holidays and summer gatherings with launches designed to feed more consumers.
With Ghirardelli’s launch of a Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownie mix the brand ensures that the 30% of consumers who follow a gluten-free diet or who have followed one in the past can share the same decadent brownie experience as other consumers.
The new mix swaps the wheat flour with brown rice flour but uses the same premium semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate chips and a unique blend of cocoa powders and vanilla used to create other signature Ghirardelli products.
“This highly anticipated offering allows everyone to enjoy the rich chocolate goodness of Ghirardelli’s beloved Double Chocolate Brownie,” David Dulyx, vice president of licensing and professional products division (PPD) for Ghirardelli, said in statement. “We’re delighted to bring the same cherished craftsmanship and decadent indulgence into the kitchens of all home bakers, regardless of dietary needs.”
Pillsbury Baking also wants to ensure that no one is left out from enjoying its new Whipped Frostings, which come in “generously sized” 12-ounce tubs to frost up to 24 cupcakes.
The Whipped Frostings are a “light, fluffy twist” on conventional frosting and available in Buttercream, Chocolate, Strawberry Delight and Sweet Cream.
They are available now in Walmart and coming soon to other retailers at a suggested price of $1.96 per tub.
Refreshing beverages ‘turn on vacation mode’
New products from Califia Farms, Capri Sun and Chobani will help consumers chill out and enjoy the long summer days and leisurely evenings with refreshing drinks or products inspired by iconic seasonal beverages.
Chobani “is chasing the sun” with a trio of limited-time flavors that recall nostalgic summer moments across its Classic Greek Yogurt, Flip and Coffee Creamer lines.
It says it draws inspiration from the classic summer beverage fruit punch for an LTO Greek Yogurt that blends cherry, orange and pineapple flavors, from social media for its Confetti Birthday Cake dairy coffee creamer and from the Fourth of July with its Red, White and Poppin Flip that blends lemon Greek yogurt with “natural poppin’ red, white and blue candies.”
Califia Farms claims its new line of Creamy Refreshers, which blend fruit juices with coconut cream, “is turning on vacation mode.” The line includes Strawberry Creme, Key Lime Colada, Pina Colada and Orange Creme flavors, all of which have 10 grams of sugar or less per serving, which is nearly 60% less sugar than leading fruit juice beverages.
The beverages are available nationwide at Albertsons, Target and Kroger for a suggested retail price of $5.99.
Kraft Heinz is helping consumers enjoy summer evenings and the recent total lunar eclipse with the debut of Capri Sun’s Moon Punch – a creative repackaging of its classic cherry-flavored juice in a glow-in-the-dark pouch. The launch follows the recent expansion of the line into a multi-serve jug, pallet of pouches at Walmart and single-serve bottle.
