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.
Bagel bomb from Philadelphia and Milk Bar
Philadelphia and Milk Bar are joining forces to satisfy sweet tooths in a new bagel bomb offering.
The Kraft Heinz brand and the Washington, D.C.-based bakery created the Red Velvet Philly Bagel Bomb to capitalize on the red velvet and cream-cheese combo craze, one of Milk Bar’s best-selling flavors. This is a first-of-its-kind innovation for both parties and Milk Bar’s first sweet bagel bomb offering.
“When we created the Bagel Bomb way back in 2011, we were only able to offer them in our bakeries, much to folks’ dismay,” said Christina Tosi, chef and founder of Milk Bar. “Teaming up with Philadelphia… felt like the truest way to roll out our first-ever nationwide bagel bomb offering.”
The product is now available for purchase at Milk Bar shops in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, and for nationwide purchase online for a limited time.
The doughy bite features a lightly sweetened Philadelphia cream cheese core with chocolate that is wrapped with red velvet bagel dough. It can be enjoyed as an indulgent breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert, the bakery chain said.
In September, Milk Bar teamed up with Frito-Lay’s Cheetos to create a cheese puff layer cake in celebration of the PepsiCo brand’s 75th birthday.
— Elizabeth Flood
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Courtesy of Mars Incorporated
Skittles shrink as minis trend expands
Consumers looking for a more discreet way to taste the rainbow are in luck.
Confectionery giant Mars unveiled Skittles Littles, a smaller version of the candy. It is available in 7.2-ounce bags or poppable tubes. The brand said this format for Skittles will allow for easier on-the-go consumption.
“Expanding our portfolio with SKITTLES Littles allows us to create even more pleasantly perplexing experiences and inspire moments of everyday happiness for fans,” Ro Cheng, marketing director at Mars, said in a statement.
The treat will make its debut at select stores this month before a wider launch in 2024. Mars’ other bite-sized circular candy staple, M&Ms, began selling Mini M&Ms in 1997.
In recent years, CPG companies have announced miniature versions of household name products.
In 2022, Frito-Lay debuted Minis— smaller versions of some of its most popular snacks including Doritos, Cheetos and Sun Chips — packaged in a Pringles-esque tin.
Also late last year, General Mills unveiled miniature versions of three of its most popular cereals: Trix, Reese’s Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. In the freezer aisle, Blue Bunny debuted in 2023 Mini Bars and Mini Swirls, tinier versions of its classic ice cream treats.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Whipnotic
Whipnotic conjures up new whipped cream flavors
Whipnotic is putting a sweet spin on a classic treat.
The whipped cream brand is releasing two new flavors of the popular pie and ice cream topping: Brownie Batter and Peach Mango. Brownie Batter pairs cocoa batter with sweet airy cream, while Peach Mango infuses fresh mangoes with sweet ripe peaches.
These swirls are keto-friendly, gluten-free, artificial flavor-free, and they contain only 15 calories and 1 gram of sugar per serving.
Whipnotic, founded by two sisters, claims to be the only whipped cream brand to put a colorful swirl of flavor offering due to patented technology. All four flavors, including originals Strawberry Swirl and Vanilla Salted Caramel that launched earlier this year, are available at retail and online.
“Whipped cream is stealing the scene and we’re thrilled to play a disruptive role in propelling this trend into the future,” Lori Gitomer, co-founder and CEO of Whipnotic. “We had so much fun dreaming up these whipped cream flavors for our fans, now the confectionary creativity is in your hands.”
Gitomer and her sister Tracy Luckow founded the company in 2019 to add more variety to an indulgence that has seen little innovation in nearly 100 years. The company holds a global patent with more than 30 claims for the breakthrough packaging innovation which enables a user to control the combination of two different flavors, colors, textures, or ingredients.
The global whipping cream market size, valued at $6 billion in 2018, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2019 to 2025, according to data from Grand View Research. The data firm attributed the rise to increased consumption of foods, such as pies, cupcakes, ice creams, sundaes and milkshakes.
— Christopher Doering
