Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
Lipton chills out with popsicles
While Lipton is best known for its tea, the beverage is entering the frozen treats aisle with popsicles.
Lipton said its Pops of Sunshine — Green Tea Citrus and Peach Iced Tea flavored frozen treats — are aimed at adults in an effort to tap into childhood nostalgia. The limited-time frozen pops will only be available to claim through Lipton’s social channels. It’s the first time the brand has made a frozen treat for U.S. shoppers.
“Lipton Iced Tea is ushering in the new season by spreading sunshine to parents who crave — and deserve — their own version of a summer break, no matter how big or small,” said Julie Raheja-Perera, general manager for the Pepsi Lipton Partnership. “Summer is primetime for iced tea.”
While children will undoubtedly have a chance to try the popsicles, the offering is clearly geared toward adults. Lipton found in a survey more than 75% of parents said frozen pops take them back to sweet summer memories.
To promote the Pops of Sunshine, Lipton partnered with rapper T-Pain to cover the 1999 summer hit “Steal My Sunshine” that was originally recorded by the band Len.
A growing number of brands, including Golden Grahams, Cocoa Puffs, Mtn Dew and Bazooka, have tapped into nostalgia, and for good reason.
A study conducted by the Journal of Consumer Research found consumers are willing to pay more when they’re nostalgic because it provides an immediate sense of happiness and comfort — a fact that companies have latched on to. Additional research has shown that consumers have a special preference for flavors they enjoyed before they were 10.
Lipton is part of a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo in which PepsiCo focuses on Lipton’s ready-to-drink beverages and Unilever handles the leaf tea. Each company owns a 50% stake.
For Lipton, the popsicles serve to boost consumer awareness of the brand in a crowded tea space. By hearing about and potentially trying the popsicles, shoppers may be more inclined to pick up a bag of tea or ready-made drink.
— Christopher Doering
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Courtesy of Ferrero
Keebler sweetens summertime with more chocolatey Chips Deluxe
For those who want their chocolate chip cookies extra fudgy, Ferrero’s Keebler brand has the answer.
The confectioner and sweet snacks maker is adding fudge to its classic chocolate chip cookies in its new Chips Deluxe Fudgy cookies.
“We’re excited to put a new spin on our fan-favorite Chips Deluxe cookies and what better way to do it than adding in more fudge – one ingredient we know a lot about,” Keebler Vice President of Marketing Alicia Mosley said in a release.
Keebler’s corporate parent, Ferrero, is one of the world’s largest chocolate companies. In recent years, the company has been working toward a wide expansion in the United States — which involves both bringing its successful European products to a North American market and acquiring top U.S. brands. Keebler is one of these acquisitions, purchased by Ferrero in 2019 for $1.3 billion.
Keebler is one of the top 10 CPG cookie brands in the United States, according to a listing earlier this year from Candy Retailer.
Through the years following the acquisition, Ferrero has worked to modernize and upgrade the Keebler brand. Much of this has involved upgrading the ingredients and placing a new focus on what makes the products stand out.
As consumers are snacking more, the cookie space has grown. Last September, cookie sales had increased 7.7% year-over-year, pushing annual sales in the segment to $8.6 billion, according to statistics from the former IRI, now known as Circana.
Adding more chocolate to a CPG favorite is a good way to stoke more growth. According to a OnePoll survey last year, chocolate chip is the top favorite cookie flavor in the U.S., and more than six in 10 say that a good chocolate chip cookie cannot be beat.
— Megan Poinski
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Courtesy of Somos
Somos brings fire and crunch to meals
This summer, Somos wants at-home chefs to use its new sauces to add a spicy crunch to their dinner.
The Mexican better-for-you food brand is debuting salsa macha in two flavors, Nuts & Seeds and Mango & Pineapple. The salsa macha is now available at Whole Foods, with more stores to follow in the fall.
Salsa macha is a chili oil condiment originally hailing from Veracruz, Mexico, which typically consists of a fried mix of chili peppers, nuts and seeds. In its press release, Somos said it was inspired to release the sauces as an alternative to Asian chili crisps, which exploded in the at-home cooking space in recent years and currently make up 60% of the global chili oil market, Data Intelo found.
Somos — which was started in 2021 by former Kind executives Daniel Lubetsky, Miguel Leal and Rodrigo Zuloaga, each of whom are Mexican-American — was created to change Americans’ perceptions about Mexican food with meals intended to be ready in 90 seconds or less. Its lineup currently consists of salsa, beans, rice and plant-based protein options for tacos and burritos made of vegetables like peas and mushrooms. The brand says it produces all of its foods in Mexico using traditional techniques.
Leal, the CEO of Somos, said in the press release the brand was inspired by a family recipe from Zuloaga, creating the salsa macha using chile de arbol and guajillo chile.
“These jars are packed with the vibrancy of Mexico and we’re so excited to see that come to life on-shelf and drizzled on all types of food, day and night,” Leal said. “Salsa Macha is what got Rodrigo so deeply immersed in the food industry in the first place and we’re humbled to carry on the legacy of his roots stateside, far, and wide.”
The launch follows other new products from the brand in recent months, including Mexican Street Corn White Rice, Chipotle Refried Beans and Poblano Brown Rice.
The success of Mexican food — especially among Gen Z consumers who prefer it over Italian food, according to recent Datassential research sent to Food Dive — is leading to more players in the space capitalizing on the array of ingredients.
Last month, hot sauce giant Cholula debuted its first products outside of its signature sauce, a line of salsas and seasonings intended to add spice to tacos and enchiladas.
— Chris Casey
