Expo East 2023: AcreMade’s “Easier” Eggs; Nona Lim New Entrees
The NOSH team spent Thursday trawling the trade show floor at this year’s last-ever Natural Products Expo East and have complied a healthy haul of notes, thoughts, hot takes and new product finds. Brands shared strategic new product launches, while others detailed how they’ve evolved their position, portfolios and growth strategies to pave new paths forward. Check out this rundown of notable news and updates from the show:
AcreMade Aims To Make Eggs Even Easier
After launching its plant-based, egg protein substitute as a single-ingredient pack in retail last year, AcreMade (#4095) is looking to mix up a higher value scramble. The company debuted shelf-stable Protein Scramble cups this summer as a vehicle to drive trial for its vegan egg ingredient and ease consumers into the idea of converting from the chicken-sourced commodity.
The 1 oz protein scramble cups come in three SKUs – Power (Vegan Bacon & Sausage and Potato), Veggie (Onion, Potato, Red Bell Pepper, Mushroom and Broccoli) and Southwest (Plant-based Chorizo, Jalapeños, Onion and Potato) – and with between 10 to 15 grams of protein each. The Scrambles can be prepared in a variety of ways including in the oven, on a skillet or in the microwave. A brand rep at its Expo booth was unable to confirm the product’s SRP; AcreMade’s website still notes the product is Coming Summer 2023 with limited product information.
After launching the top- 9-allergen free egg substitute as a standalone ingredient, the spokesperson said the brand realized it needed to help the consumer in properly preparing its egg – they believe this new line product, along with social media videos and the inclusion of tips and tricks on-pack (coming soon), will help ease some of those usage issues.
Foodservice is another important channel for Acremade’s pea protein and lupin flour-based egg substitute ingredient, in addition to a vegan egg replacer for baking.
The new product also gives the brand an alternate way to showcase and sell its non-egg ingredients, said a spokesperson for the brand, which includes textured vegan proteins in a variety of formats such as burgers, crumbles, bites and ground. Those items are also sold as wholesale ingredients for foodservice use.
Nona Lim Adds New Chilled Entrees
Get ready Kevin’s, there’s a new competitor in the prepared meals set. Asian-inspired noodle and soup brand Nona Lim (#1047) debuted new eat and eat meals at Expo East in a bid to expand its presence across store aisles.
Rolling out at Ralph’s King Sooper and Fry’s stores next month, the two new entrees – Singaporean Chicken Curry and Filipino Pork Adobo – are priced around $12.99 to $13.99, can be sold frozen or chilled and can be heated on the stovetop or microwaved.
The goal, founder and CEO Nona Lim said, is to create a line that can directly stand up to category leader Kevin’s (which was acquired by Mars earlier this year), though her products will skew premium with a price 15% higher than Kevin’s. Depending on the retailer, the entrees will likely be stocked in the meat department or the deli department.
Lim said she has been working on the new entrees for over a year, with R&D taking more time due to the product’s lack of citric acid and a production process that relies on both marinating the meat and then cooking it in that liquid, a step that retains the moisture and fat from the cooking process.
“Honestly, this was a lesson to swim where the fish are,” Lim said. “I’m grateful to Kevin’s because they did create that category, so consumers are familiar with the format and the concept. Instead of always trying to be the first and create a category, which takes a lot of time, I am now happy to be a follower.”
To date, Lim’s other entree dishes, such as a Pad Thai Kit, have been vegan, with consumers encouraged to add their own protein or vegetables. Lim said she wanted to add new meals for shoppers who wanted a meat option while still allowing for customization with vegetables and the carbohydrates (such as rice or noodles)t. By avoiding including extra components, carbs in particular, the meals may also appeal to shoppers who follow the paleo and keto diets.
More expansion is on the horizon for the company: Lim told NOSH she plans to launch the brand’s first shelf stable item later this year. That innovation, she added, has been brought to market much faster thanks to strong supplier sourcing capabilities in Asia courtesy of the brand’s new parent company, DDC.
Surthrival Brings New Powder To Protein Space
Daniel Vitalis, the host of Outdoor Channel’s WildFed, is looking to feed consumers a new protein ingredient that is naturally sourced from communities across the Midwest.
That’s the concept behind Vitalis’ extension of his personal brand, Surthrival (#4176), into the food industry after making its premiere at Expo East with a single product: Black Walnut Protein Powder. There are currently 306 million black walnut trees growing in the U.S., Vitalis explained, and all of them are wild, meaning none of these trees have been grown for agricultural use. Black walnuts contain a significant amount of protein – 17 grams per each scoop of Surthrival’s powder – but have not been used distinctly for this purpose in the CPG space until now.
In addition to its high protein concentration, the powder is high in Iron and potassium and contains 4 grams of dietary fiber and 110 calories per serving. A 1 lb. bag of Black Walnut Protein Powder sells for $49 on the brand’s website. It has not yet launched at retail.
Surthrival uses a CO2 extraction method to separate the protein from the oil. The practice is commonly used in the cannabis industry, but not so much in protein powders. This has been a pain point, Vitalis said, because finding cannabis processing facilities – which are already in short supply – to stop and clean machines to process walnuts is not an easy ask.
The company sources all of its walnuts through Hammon’s, which Vitalis said is the only Black Walnut supplier in the U.S. Between October and November, Hammons dispenses processing pop-ups across regions where black walnuts are grown. Local families and farmers bring the nuts that have fallen from their trees to their local pop up processor and are paid by the pound for the products by Hammons.
Vitalis said after launching the product online and promoting within his established online community in recent months, he is now looking to bring black walnuts into retail. Surthrival already sells a range of products on its online platform including natural and wild-foraged supplements, extracts as well as brand merch.
Shire’s “Grows Up” Under New Name
What do you learn after a decade spent building a plant-based dairy brand? For Shire’s Premium Plant-Based, it was the importance of telling a proper story with product branding.
Leaving behind its former name, Nuttin’ Ordinary (a pun on the nut-free, plant-based cheese), was an evolution towards “growing up” and being more “authentic” to what the brand has become and the people behind itt, co-founder Josh Velaquez told NOSH at Expo East this week.
“I started this company with my husband when I was 32 years old. I’m 42 now,” he noted. “We’ve grown up.”
The new name is a nod to the company’s roots in Peterborough, New Hampshire and gives consumers a sense of place and identity beyond a pun. The change comes after almost a year of discussion on how to reposition the plant-based cheese company within the crowded dairy-free cheese category.
Although the company has a limited local presence in 200 stores, it wanted a name that could work for a national brand in the future. “If we’re going to change it, change it now,” said Velaquez.
The new packaging also includes a callout to the company’s fermentation process: Shire’s plays classical music to its cheeses as they ferment (cheese spread gets Beethoven and cream cheese prefers Mozart) which Velaquez insists affects the taste.
Along with the rebrand, the company also filed as a Delaware C corporation transitioning away from its previous status as a limited liability company. The new entity, Clean Simple Foods, leaves it better positioned to raise capital by issuing shares. In the process, the company received investment from Richard “Rick” Antonelli, Elliot Begoun and Bob Burke, who are also serving as three strategic advisors. The details of the raise were not disclosed.
