A new hazelnut and cocoa spread is hitting the market with a surprising primary ingredient: chickpeas! Elsewhere in new product development across the bloc, Swedish plant-based brand Oumph! has developed a vegan alternative to meatballs, and a gut-friendly kimchi is launching in 'super green' flavours.
GettyImages/BrianAJackson
A new hazelnut and cocoa spread is hitting the market with a surprising primary ingredient: chickpeas! Elsewhere in new product development across the bloc, Swedish plant-based brand Oumph! has developed a vegan alternative to meatballs, and a gut-friendly kimchi is launching in 'super green' flavours.
GettyImages/BrianAJackson
GettyImages/BrianAJackson
Fabalous is bringing an innovative hazelnut chocolate spread to market, with chickpeas as the primary ingredient.
Indeed, each jar contains 32% chickpeas – equating to 128 dried chickpeas. The legume is high in protein and a source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
With just eight ingredients – chickpeas, cane sugar, sunflower oil, hazelnut paste, low-fat cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin and salt – the result is a spread with 81% more protein, 43% less saturated fat and 57% less sugar than the ‘leading brands in the category’, noted Fabalous.
From an environmental standpoint, the cocoa is ethically sourced, and the spread is sold in plastic free packaging.
A 200g jar of Fabalous Organic Hazelnut & Cocoa Spread has an RRP of 200g and is available via Amazon. The company plans to roll it out into delis, cafes and retailers across the UK this year.
Image source: Fabalous
Vadasz is launching its vegan Super Green Kimchi into Waitrose.
The ‘live cultured super condiment’ claims to be ‘gut friendly’. It is made from Chinese leaf cabbage, cucumbers, apples, kale, spring onions, green jalapeno chillies, ginger and garlic.
“Vadasz Kimchi has been flying off the shelves at Waitrose, the retailer which first launched our products. Customers have shared with us just how much they love the original recipe, so our fermentation experts have been busy in the kitchen developing a new recipe that we are sure shoppers will love,” said senior brand manager Charlie Holland.
“The Super Green recipe is packed full of flavour, but offers a modern take on a Korean classic – plus all the tasty ‘gutness’ you’d expect from fermented vegetables.”
A 400g pot of Vadasz’ Super Green Kimchi has an RRP of £4.50.
Image source: Vadasz
A plant-based version of classic Swedish meatballs are ‘rolling’ into Ocado thanks to Oumph!
Oumph! Balls are made from soya, are high in fibre and free from dairy and gluten.
“We’re really pleased to e able to offer our customers a new product from Oumph! The Oumph! Balls are an exciting addition to the collection and allow us to extend our huge range of vegetarian and vegan products,” said Tom Gray, Buyer at Ocado.
“It’s great timing that we are able to bring these to customers in Veganuary too.”
A packet of 280g Oumph! Balls have an RRP of £3.50.
Image source: Oumph!
Vimto make Nichols has re-launched Feel Good Drinks, a sustainable purpose-led range of flavoured sparkling waters with a 100% natural new drink formulation in plastic free packaging. Born out of recognition of the opportunity in the market for natural, great tasting drinks with no added sugar or additives, the brand will be run in the style of a start-up as part of Nichols PLC.
The range of 100% natural fruitful canned sparkling waters have been created using no artificial flavours, added sugar or sweeteners and contain 15% real fruit juice. Available in three variants; Peach & Passionfruit, Rhubarb & Apple, Raspberry & Hibiscus, the range contains less than 27 calories per 330ml can and is available to purchase from Ocado, Booths, WH Smith Travel and via feelgooddrinks.com.
Feel Good General Manager, Ed Woolner, said: “In a century of rapid technological and industrial growth, humans have somewhat forgotten how fragile the natural world is and how much we rely on it for our wellbeing. The Feel Good 3% People & Planet fund is our way of giving back, we know we are taking raw materials from the planet, but by donating and partnering with charities that support personal and planetary wellbeing we hope to help protect the natural environment that gives us so much.”
Image supplied by Nichols
PEP Kitchen’s range of frozen, vegan, ready meals will be available in eleven Planet Organic stores in the UK.
The retail range includes dishes such as Coconut Dhal & ‘Gunpowder’ Roasted Roots, Mung Bean Moussaka and ‘Chorizo’ Spiced Tempeh Red Pepper Stew, priced in store between £5.79 and £7.29. PEP meals offer something new to frozen convenience in speciality retail, creating great tasting ready meals that don’t compromise on health, nutrition or sustainability.
PEP Kitchen meals are created with the aim of exciting people to consider more plant-based options, as both a sustainable and environmentally conscious choice, whether this is full time or flexitarian. This new listing reflects an incredibly positive reaction to the brand since launch and a changing mentality towards both frozen meals and vegan eating at home.
The six strong range includes 3 meals for one and 3 dishes for two, which are designed for sharing with sides. The range has had a packaging refresh for the Planet Organic launch to ensure shelf visibility and maximise freezer space.
On the new listing founder of PEP Kitchen Joe Coulter said: “We’re super excited to be working with Planet Organic and bringing PEP meals into frozen retail. It’s an exciting time for the sector, with frozen helping to battle food waste while bringing great tasting vegan options to the table - we hope to inspire the next generation of flexitarians with some of our great tasting meals.”
Image supplied by PEP Kitchen
European kombucha brand the GUTsy Captain has launched a Zero sugar and Zero calorie range, aiming to reach a growing number of consumers who are looking for healthy drinks with low sugar levels.
The Zero range includes six flavours – Original, Ginger & Lemon, Pomegranate, Watermelon & Mint, Passionfruit and Raspberry – which is the fastest selling Kombucha SKU in supermarkets according to the latest data*. The range offers three different pack formats to suit all consumption occasions which include a 250ml can, 400ml and 1L PET bottles and 300ml glass bottles, available across grocery multiples and health and convenience retailers, including Holland & Barrett.
“We know our Kombucha range has already won over consumers for its taste - winning awards at the recent Aurora International Taste Challenge and the Great Taste Awards,” said chief marketing officer Inês Freitas.
“Our challenge was to broaden the appeal of the category with innovative NPD, to continue to make GUTsy Captain appeal to more consumers and ensure that they reach for Kombucha intuitively,” said Inês.
Whilst appealing to consumers who want to consume a lower level of calories and sugar, the new Zero range remains 100% Kombucha and, whilst it has a longer fermentation period in order to leave no sugar at the end, it is created in the same traditional and authentic way as the existing core range, using a SCOBY - a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, which produces the taste that consumers have come to love about The GUTsy Captain drinks.
“No and low sugar levels are key drivers for consumption of healthy beverages. Concerns over sugar and increased awareness around the negative impacts of sugar means that Kombucha is already a popular choice for young shoppers and the health-aware.”
The GUTsy Captain Zero range has a recommended retail price of £1.99.
Image supplied by the GUTsy Captain
