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.
Claussen takes pickles into spritz
Fans of pickles can find the flavor in a variety of products now, from potato chips to almonds and ice cream. This summer, Claussen is bringing it to canned libations.
The Kraft Heinz-owned pickle brand is debuting a cocktail containing pickle flavor. The Spritz Society Pickle wine cocktail is the first time Claussen has brought a beverage product to retail.
The beverage contains 6% alcohol by volume, and features a “refreshing, crisp, pickle flavored” taste, made using white wine with fruity flavors, according to the brand. It first teased the idea in a 2022 April Fools’ Day joke before deciding to manufacture it, Claussen said in the press release.
“With pickle being such a craveable food, we are excited to hear the response from our pickle lovers and think everyone will be pleasantly surprised by the unique, refreshing taste of a pickle-flavored sparkling wine cocktail,” Lizzy Goodman, Claussen’s brand manager, said in the press release.
According to 2019 sales data, Claussen has been the best-selling pickle brand in the U.S.
While a relatively novel idea, other brands have tapped the flavor for alcoholic beverages. San Antonio brewery Martin House debuted a pickle-flavored IPA last year.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Nestle
Tombstone raises the bar
Born in a Wisconsin bar 65 years ago, Tombstone pizza is going back to its roots.
The Nestlé-owned brand is paying homage to its founding with a pizza it describes as an “unapologetic, over-the-top bold flavor experience” that features bar snack favorites all on one buttery, crispy crust.
The Tombstone Bar Snacks pizza is topped with mozzarella sticks, fried pickles and fried onions before it’s finished with spicy jalapeno slices and nacho cheese sauce.
To get a slice of the unique pizza and celebrate International Beer Day on August 4, Tombstone is giving away a select number of Bar Snacks Pizzas to consumers who enter online for a chance to win.
“We’re doubling down on our born-in-a-bar heritage with this pizza,” Neil Morrissey, Nestlé’s marketing brand manager, said in a statement. “The Bar Snacks Pizza uniquely captures the spirit of everyone’s favorite bar in a way that only Tombstone Pizza can deliver.”
Nestlé is no stranger to taking one of its popular pizza brands and rolling out a limited-time twist as it does frequently under its popular DiGiorno brand.
Last year, DiGiorno offered up ice cream cones made from its Croissant Crust, a bestselling variety with a base of the buttery pastry that debuted in 2020.
It also debuted the DiGiornut, a doughnut stuffed with mozzarella cheese, topped with signature DiGiorno sauce and more cheese, and decked out with favorite pizza toppings.
— Christopher Doering
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Courtesy of Applegate
Applegate expands into the breakfast category
Applegate digs into its natural and organic roots and enters the handheld frozen breakfast category.
The New Jersey-based natural and organic meat brand has entered the breakfast arena, with the launch of frittata bites, which will be the U.S.’s first and only certified humane frozen egg bites, according to the company.
The new product is part of an exclusive launch with Sprouts and will be available in the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
“As we looked at the egg bite category, we noticed a 100% natural egg bite didn’t exist that met our high standards, so we set out to create it ourselves,” said Joseph O’Connor, President of Applegate in the company release.
Nearly 40% of US shoppers find the frozen breakfast category “too processed”, according to Mintel’s 2022 research on frozen breakfast in the U.S., and Applegate is looking to shift that sentiment.
The high protein breakfast on the go will come in two flavors — true to Applegate’s roots — uncured bacon and chicken sausage, red pepper and onion. “What goes better with bacon and breakfast sausage than eggs?” said O’Connor.
The bites will come in a box of four bites and retail for $9.99.
The company said that this launch represents a shift for them. Having previously “led food movements including organic and meat raised without antibiotics,” the company is looking to bring that same sentiment to this new space in the breakfast category,the company said.
— Elizabeth Flood
