Nestlé launches its first ever Milkybar milk and white chocolate offering, cricket-based crackers hit UK shelves, and Red Date superfruits get a dark chocolate makeover. FoodNavigator brings you the latest new product development trends in Europe.
Nestlé launches its first ever Milkybar milk and white chocolate offering, cricket-based crackers hit UK shelves, and Red Date superfruits get a dark chocolate makeover. FoodNavigator brings you the latest new product development trends in Europe.
Nestlé has expanded its Milkybar range with mixed chocolate buttons – marking the first time Milkybar has combined milk and white chocolate.
The Milkybar Mix Ups packets contain both Milkybar white chocolate buttons with a cocoa filling, and milk chocolate buttons with a milky filling.
According to Nestlé, the NPD responds to customer demand.
“We get a lot of requests from Milkybar fans who have been asking us to mix white chocolate with milk chocolate for a long time, but it’s not something we’ve done before with original Milkybar,” explained Milkybar assistant brand manager Alberto Pisanello.
“Milkybar is famously white chocolate so it needed to be something special if we were going to mix things up,” he added.
Nestlé is currently rolling out the Mix Ups into stores across the UK and Ireland from its manufacturing plant in Fawdon, Newcastle.
The buttons are available in single 32.5 g packs, a 78 g pouch, a 95 g sharing bag and a larger 196 g ‘more to share’ bag.
Chocolate coated Red Dates snacks have launched in the UK.
Manufactured by London-based Abakus Foods, the product is made of the superfruit jujube, otherwise known as Red Dates, coated with premium dark chocolate.
Hailing from ‘the Far East’, Red Dates contain 18 out of 24 essential amino acids which help tissue repair and recovery. In addition, the fresh jujube fruit contains 20 times more vitamin C than citrus fruit.
“Taking the best of both worlds, we have created a fusion of East and West, and made it into a nutritious snack that excites both the body and the palette,” said Abakus Foods founder Helen Wang.
“We are really proud to be the first company to have produced the Chocolate Coated Red Dates and how delicious they turned out.”
The low calorie, vegan friendly snacks join Abakus Foods’ existing range of jujube fruit products, including Soft Pitted Red Dates, Crunchy Red Dates Crisps, and Nut Stuffed Red Dates.
The Chocolate Coated Red Dates have an RRP of £1.49 (€1.73) per pack and are available in Ocado, Grape Tree, Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Revital, as well as online.
New UK-based food company Crické has launched a line of insect-based savoury snacks.
Crické’s Cricket Crakers are being sold in three new flavours: nigella and onion; sunflower and chia; and ginger and chilli. The Cricket Tortilla Chips line has expanded to include chilli, and sea salt.
The company says its products – which are made from cricket powder – are both healthy and high in sustainable protein. Each offering contains between 80-200% more protein than comparable products.
“Insect consumption is a hot topic in sustainability talk right now. It is one potential answer to reducing our carbon footprint while still maintaining a diet high in protein and other fundamental nutrients,” according to the company.
French company Croc’Frais, a brand best-known for its range of fresh olives, has launched three savoury spreads suitable for flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans.
‘Mes Apéritifs Veggie’ come in three flavours: Green, Red and Orange.
The green offering champions courgette, kale, edamame beans, chia seeds, lemon, and mint, whereas ‘Red’ is made of tomatoes, adzuki beans, poppy seeds, garlic and basil. ‘Orange’ includes carrot, pumpkin, red lentils, sesame seeds, turmeric and chilli.
According to the company, the new line responds to growing demand for healthy, balanced, plant-based snacks. The gluten-free spreads contain no additives nor preservatives, and are naturally high in fibre and protein.
The 180 g tubs have an RRP of €2.95 and proudly displays a Nutriscore A label.
Pioneer Foods UK brand Fruit Bowl has announced a new grab-and-go range of fruit snacks.
The peeler range, which is made of 100% fruit, six-stranded snacks, comes in three flavours: strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant. The peelers are vegan friendly, gluten-free, and contain no added sugar.
Fruit Bowl has also launched yoghurt coated strawberry flakes, created from pureed fruit, and juicy yoghurt raisins.
Ranging from RRP £0.49 (€0.57) to £0.59, the convenience snacks are currently available online.
Greek manufacturer Odysea has launched three new dairy products available for sale via UK recipe box company, Abel & Co.
The organic line includes a kefir product made in Greece from goat’s milk. “The Kefir is authentically tart, with a luscious texture and creamy taste. Kefir is full of probiotics such as lactic acid bacteria which aids digestion, reduces inflammation within the digestive system and is effective in creating a healthy gut,” wrote the firm in a statement.
Odysea has also released two organic yoghurts: one made from sheep’s milk, and the other from goat’s.
According to Odysea, the sheep and goats are raised to a high animal welfare standard on a small farm in northern Greece. They are free to eat as much as they want, spend plenty of time outside, and are kept cool in the hot summer months with a fan mist system.
Odysea products are also available in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Wholefoods, and online.
French mustard company Maille has released its honey mustard in a 1 kg tub for chefs in professional kitchens.
The honey mustard’s flavour profile mixes the strong taste of mustard with the creaminess of honey, combined with acidic notes.
According to Maille, a mustard brand founded in 1747, the 1 kg format responds to growing demand in the restaurant scene, where the use of bulk format products can help chefs meet hygiene and storage standards.
All 84 Maille products are available in Maille de France stores – in Paris, Dijon, Bordeaux and London – as well as online.
