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SIDE DISH - CCD's Monthly Compilation on Food and Beverage Industry Trends
Hitting the Shelves

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES

January 2010

Country Mamas…Small purveyors are bringing back the country ham, the salty, dry-cured meats similar to prosciutto. Virginia, the well known home of country ham, has a handful of artisan producers, such as Calhoun’s Country Hams and Kite’s Hams. Read more about this trend in our Emerging Global Cuisine Trend Mapping Report profile on New Southern Cuisine. (Tasting Table National, 12/11)

 
  • Tazo Tea launches line of Well-Being teas…Tazo’s new bottled Well-Being teas cover a lot of trendy bases. Tazo Thrive is made with green teas and botanicals; Tazo Rest uses rose petals, valerian root and citrusy herbs, in line with other relaxation beverages; and Tazo Focus employs a mix of black tea, yerba maté, orange essence and cocoa peel to awaken the senses. (Business Wire, 11/30)
  • New store in Everett focuses on gluten-free food…Janell’s Gluten-Free Market, in Everett, Wash., offers only foods that are labeled gluten-free, including pita chips, candy, brownie mix and bread. The bricks-and-mortar store joins numerous online sources for gluten-free foods and is a sign of how the market for gluten-free products, while still somewhat niche, is at a tipping point to support a small business. (Herald Net, 11/30)
  • New yogurt, sour cream for Tillamook…Four flavors of all-natural yogurt roll out in January, indicating the continuation of the yogurt/probiotic trend of the last few years. The low-fat yogurts come in four inventive flavors: Baked Apple Pie (part of the dessert flavor trend), Passionfruit-Orange-Guava, Strawberry-Lemonade and Watermelon. (QSR magazine, 12/2)
  • New packaging prolongs shelf life of bananas… Del Monte has developed a new plastic wrap for bananas that doubles their shelf life by keeping out air and moisture. 7-Eleven is testing the product that, if successful, could be used in vending machines and supply convenience stores with a healthful snack alternative. (Springwise, 12/8)
  • Unilever to produce P.F. Chang’s Entrees…The premium line of frozen entrees will include Chang’s Spicy Chicken and Mongolian Beef; they join other restaurant-branded frozen foods including those from T.G.I. Friday and California Pizza Kitchen. (Food Processing, December)
  • Icing the Puck: Cool coffees from Wolfgang…Speaking of restaurant-branded CPG foods, Wolfgang Puck Culinary Iced Coffees are a new line of RTD iced coffee beverages. The 120-calorie drinks come in Vanilla Fusion, Double Blend Mocha, Crème Caramel and Café au Lait. (Food Processing, December)
Food Front

FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY HEADLINES

January 2010

Waitrose makes sustainable palm oil pledge… The U.K. supermarket is switching the palm oil in their private label products to a sustainable version to help prevent deforestation, climate change and other problems caused by the world’s cheapest vegetable oil. The oil is also associated with human rights abuses and loss of wildlife. Nestlé, Mars, Cadbury and Marks & Spencer have all announced sourcing overhauls recently. (The Independent, 12/3)

 
  • Basqueing by the Bay…CCD Chefs’ Council® member Gerald Hirigoyen was interviewed in the November issue of Restaurant Hospitality about his recent book on pintxos, or Basque-style small plates, and running restaurants in San Francisco. Like many culinary professionals, he became excited about cooking at a young age. He also discussed the importance of fresh, local food in the Bay Area, reducing his wine inventory during the recession and cooking for 700 Williams-Sonoma employees daily. (Restaurant Hospitality, November).
  • Consumers go out for bold flavors they can’t make at home…According to data by NPD Group, bold flavors are the key to strengthening weak restaurant sales. The top ten flavors consumers would like to see including garlic, hot/spicy, Italian, Latin/Spanish, Cajun/Creole, Teriyaki, Citrus, Berries and Chipotle. (NRN, 12/7)
  • Sous-vide moves from avant-garde to the countertop…When we profiled sous-vide cooking in our Food Textures Culinary Trend Mapping Report, we didn’t envision a counter-top model arriving any time soon. Voilá SousVide Supreme, a self-contained sous-vide machine for home cooks costing about $450. Food is put in an airtight bag and slowly cooked in a heated water bath, just like at many fine dining restaurants across the country. The advantage? Ultra-moist, flavorful food with out-of-this-world textures. (New York Times, 12/9)
  • Restaurant of the future?...The Bazaar by José Andrés in the Beverly Hills’ SLS Hotel could be the model of the future. All meals are made up of tapas, or small plates, there is a big focus on the bar and it’s housed in a hotel. All elements have been appearing as successful ones for restaurants across the country during a time when business is suffering. (Wall Street Journal, 12/10)
  • Serial crowd pleaser: Study finds guests want breakfast items served all day long…Breakfast is growing beyond the morning daypart thanks to its health halo, comfort qualities and value proposition. According to a Technomic study, 46% of 1,500 consumers surveyed said they wanted breakfast served all day at full-service restaurants, while 32% would like it at limited-service restaurants as well. (NRN, 12/14)
  • Occasion persuasion…Consumers today are no longer shopping at the beginning of the week but rather going out three times a week for smaller shops to fill-in as needed. These quick trips could be a boon to the well-stocked convenience store, moving to become more competitive with today’s value shopper. (CSPNET, 12/14)
  • Kava ‘anti-energy” drink takes root in the Southland…Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties. Mary Jane is part of a group of so-called slow-down or anti-energy drinks, along with Slow Cow and Ex Chill, a potential food and beverage trend of 2010. (Los Angeles Times, 12/29)
  • In a nutshell…For yoga studios and ethnic markets to high-profile athletes and celebrities, coconut water is poised to become the next big thing in marketable hydration. We profiled this as a Stage 3 trend in our Beverage Trends Culinary Trend Mapping Report. Its sales have been growing steadily and its popularity in places like Brazil indicate a bright future. (Beverage World, December)