The Checkout: SFA Fancy Foods Trends; Brands Look To Youtube For Engagement

Welcome to The Checkout: an express lane for the weekly news you need to know, always 10 items or less.

The Specialty Food Association Trendspotter Panel Names Nine Trends From Winter Fancy Food Show

The bi-annual Fancy Food Show returned to its first in-person event after two years of virtual exhibiting earlier this month with a plethora of new innovative and sustainable health-focused products and better-for-you takes on classic comfort foods, according to SFA’s Trendspotter Panel.

Within these macro themes, ingredients such as hemp, dates and peppers were particularly prominent, as was the increased presence of mixers and concentrates, coffee and tea innovations, snacks with benefits, alternative comfort foods, upcycled ingredients and global flavors on the floor.

“Health, comfort, and sustainability are threads throughout several trends coming out of the Winter Fancy Food Show,” said Denise Purcell, SFA’s VP of Content and Education, in a press release. “We continue to see the effects of the pandemic through the popularity of comfort food and snacks, innovations in environmentally conscious products like upcycled foods and hemp are increasing, and plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are going strong as are global flavors across categories.”

The trendspotter panel included the Artisanal Foods team, composed of chef Jon Batista, co-owner Jinelle Batisa, chef Jordon Dunewood and chef Juan Montano. Other panelists were Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, Associate Director of food and drink at Mintel; Chef Osei Blackett and Chef Picky of Picky Eaters Restaurant in Brooklyn; Kantha Shelke, PhD, CFS, IFT Fellow, principal, Corvus Blue LLC,; and V. Sheree Williams, executive director, The Global Food & Drink Initiative and Editor of Cuisine Noir.

Brands Look To Celebrity Youtube Series’ For Increased Consumers Engagement

Plant-based protein brand Alpha Foods and truffle-infused pantry staple maker TRUFF have both launched their own respective celebrity-hosted YouTube series this past week as a new way to educate consumers about their product attributes, use occasions and more.

Alpha Foods’ activation features drag icon Monét X Change hosting “saucy” conversations about plant-based and flexitarian eating with celebrity guests including fellow drag queens, chefs, comedians and models. The goal – present the idea of plant-based eating as accessible to all people.

“We couldn’t have found a better ambassador for the kinds of conversations we want to start about plant-based eating,” said Kierstin De West, Alpha’s CMO, in a press release. “Alpha is committed to making plant-based food accessible to all, with no judgment – whatever their meal mood and wherever they are on their plant-based food journey.”

As for TRUFF, its “WHAT THE TRUFF?!” series also spotlights celebrities, influencers and “tastemakers.” However, unlike Alpha, this series features a culinary component as guests create “questionably delicious meals using strange and unique ingredients,” all topped with a TRUFF product of their choice. The series builds off the brands already high-engagement on social media including platforms such as TikTok and Instagram and marks the brand’s first attempt at longer-form videos.

“Creativity is the essence of TRUFF,” said Tal Cooperman, Partner at TRUFF, in a press release. “When the brand was first getting started, we were told truffles and spice didn’t pair well together, but that didn’t stop us from pushing the flavor boundaries. The “WHAT THE TRUFF?!” series is a play on that mission of challenging the culinary status quo to create something innovative and untraditional.”

KIND Launches New Nutrition-forward Campaign Against Packaged Foods, Including Its Own Snacks

KIND is acknowledging that its own snacks provide inferior nutrition compared to fresh, whole foods, such as whole nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruit and grains, according to its new campaign which urges consumers to ditch packaged foods when possible, and when they can’t – reach for a KIND snack. While its own products include an ingredient label of nuts, whole grains and fruit, the snack maker’s latest initiative aims to educate consumers that its offerings will always be the runner-up to the real thing.

“There’s a time and place for eating a KIND bar, but we believe it should never replace eating the whole, fresh foods that are essential to staying healthy,” said Russell Stokes, CEO at KIND, in a press release. “Since our founding, we’ve always advocated for nutrition transparency and encouraged people to eat better, even if that means buying raw almonds and fresh apples over our bars.”

Alongside this campaign, the company has unveiled a faux, KIND bar vending machine in NYC that upon purchase, opens up to “The Secret KIND Farmers Market” where consumers can help themselves to fresh produce like fruits and vegetables, free of charge. Additionally on March 1 and 2, in honor of National Nutrition Month, the snack maker will not sell its bars online, instead offering consumers a KIND Whole Fruit and Nut Box instead.

“According to the CDC, only about 12% of American adults are eating enough fruits and vegetables,” said Sammi Brondo, Registered Dietitian and KIND spokesperson, in a press release. “Instead, they are relying on easy, convenience foods that usually don’t contain the same, important nutrients as fresh produce. KIND’s efforts will be a small, but highly effective way to help in our nationwide effort to make fruits and vegetables more easily accessible and readily consumed.”

Kroger Activates Loop Partnership at 25 Fred Meyer’s Stores

Grocery retailer Kroger has partnered up with Loop, a circular recycling platform developed by TerraCycle, offering consumers over 20 products in reusable, returnable packaging at 25 Fred Meyer locations in Portland, Oregon. The products include brands such as Arbor Teas, Gerber, Nature’s Heart, Nature’s Path and Stubb’s BBQ in addition to Kroger’s private label, Simple Truth products.

“Our focus on innovative solutions as we continue on our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste journey aligns with Loop’s mission to create a convenient circular packaging platform,” said Lisa Zwack, Kroger’s head of sustainability, in a press release. “Customers are increasingly seeking out sustainable products and services that fit their lifestyle, and this collection makes it convenient. As the first grocer in America to offer these products, Kroger is pleased to take another meaningful step toward a world with zero waste.”

The “Loop-ready” products will be featured on branded displays within participating stores, which will also offer a collection station for the customer to return the packaging which are then cleaned and refilled. Loop also recently activated its circular-reuse platform at select Burger King restaurants and launched its first in-store retail model in Paris in December 2020.

“Loop’s goal has always been to grow, scale and be accessible to consumers around the world,” said Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop, in a press release. “With the world’s largest retailers bringing Loop to physical brick and mortar locations, we are giving consumers what they’ve been asking for since Loop was introduced in 2019 – the ability to purchase the products they use every day in durable, reusable containers, with the convenience of shopping at their local market.”