NPD Trend Tracker: From alcoholic advent calendars to protein ball multipacks

Michelin star chef joins forces with Old Pulteney whisky​

Nuno Mendes, the Michelin-star chef, has teamed up with whisky brand Old Pulteney to create a range of recipes.

Inspired both by his own Portuguese heritage and Old Pulteney’s hometown of Wick, Scotland, Mendes’ recipes showcase the brand’s latest limited edition Coastal Series, Old Pulteney Port.

The recipes include slow baked scallops with a smoky broth infused with Old Pulteney Port, Arroz de Marisco with lobster, crab and Old Pulteney Port, and smoked Portuguese rice cake with Old Pulteney Port and caramel custard.

“I’ve crafted these recipes to highlight the beautiful connection between Portuguese and Scottish cuisines, using Old Pulteney Port to enhance the natural flavours of the sea,” Mendes said. “The flavours I’ve explored are a celebration of our shared coastal heritage, and come to life through delicious, memorable dishes.”

“Nuno’s passion and creativity is the perfect complement to the unique character of our whisky. Like Nuno, we know how evocative and influential the sea can be in unlocking our senses, so we’re excited to see how whisky lovers and food enthusiasts embrace this special collaboration,” Old Pulteney distillery manager Malcom Waring added.

Innocent Drinks redesigns packaging​

UK drinks brand, Innocent, has redesigned its packaging. Its new design has been implemented across its portfolio: on juices, core and super smoothies, and its iplus range.

The design, which reimagines the brand’s logo with a custom woodmark, aims to focus on simplicity.

The brand design, which will be consistent across Innocent’s 18 markets, also includes back-of-pack stories, natural photography and hand-drawn touches.

The design for Innocent’s juices will focus on natural fruit photography set against a white label; its core smoothies will use a subtle tint to convey the thicker nature of the products; the iplus range will include transparent labels to show off the colourful liquid within; and for super smoothies, rich label colours aim to communicate the nutritional and functional elements of the range.

“Our designs have evolved organically as we have grown, but as we looked ahead at our future, we found it was time for a refresh. Realising our packaging wasn’t making it easy for our drinkers to choose our bottles and enjoy the goodness of fruit and veg inside was what inspired our new design strategy - making our ‘Dude’ the star of the show again no matter where in the world our drinks are being sold,” said Irem Mainwaring, head of brand and portfolio at Innocent Drinks.

“Our dude is a beacon of goodness, with our drinks being an easy and delicious way to get more fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients into our diets, so we wanted a visual language that matched this. The result is a bold and playful system that aligns with the innocent brand whilst helping drinkers understand the goodness that goes into our juices and smoothies. We can’t wait for this to hit shelves in the following months.”

The rollout of this new design begins this month will be complete by February 2025.

Sauce Shop launches Miso Teriyaki Barbecue Sauce​

UK sauce brand Sauce Shop has launched a new product: Miso Teriyaki Barbecue Sauce. Tapping into the ‘east meets west’ food trend, the sauce has notes of sweet and savoury, combining the umami of miso with the smokiness of barbecue sauce.

"We’re excited to introduce our new Miso Teriyaki BBQ sauce exclusively to Sainsbury’s customers, who we know are often on the lookout for new and exciting flavours. We know this combination of flavours works really well and will be perfect for anyone looking to incorporate Asian fusion flavours into their cooking with minimal effort,” said Sauce Shop co-founder Pam Digva.  

The sauce is available exclusively from UK supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s, at an RRP of £2.80 for each 320g squeezy bottle.

Protein Ball Co. launches new multipacks​

Protein Ball Co., the UK-based protein snacking company, has released three new protein ball multipacks.

While its products previously resided in the ‘grab and go’ section of supermarkets, they are now available in multipack form. The protein ball flavours available in multipack include Blueberry Oat Muffin, Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter.

The products, according to the brand, contain no added sugar, are rich in fibre and vitamins C, D3 and B12, and give the consumer at least 7g of protein per 45g bag (with Peanut Butter High Protein balls giving 10g of protein).

“We are thrilled to be launching these new multipacks, which allow us to target a broader range of customers. Our products typically cater to the on-the-go customer, looking for a quick impulse buy that fuels their active lifestyle. These new multipack boxes will appeal to those who like to plan further ahead and have healthy snacks to hand all week long,” said Matt Hunt, founder of The Protein Ball Co.

“This will be the first time we have offered a multipack to the retail trade. We hope this will give retailers even more scope as to where to stock The Protein Ball Co and choose the right format they feel suits customer demand.”

Each multipack contains three bags. They are available from UK supermarket retailers at £4.99.

Craft Gin Club launch Christmas range​

UK gin subscription service Craft Gin Club is launching a Christmas range. The range includes a series of alcohol-infused ways of counting down to Christmas, including the Craft Gin Advent Calendar, which is on general sale now at the price of £89.99, and the Gin and Tonic Advent Calendar, at £59.99.

At for the Christmas season itself, the club is releasing a 12 Days of Rum Calendar, available for delivery from mid-October at £49.99.

“It’s been a really exciting year at Craft Gin Club, as we’ve set our sights on the wider world of craft spirits beyond just gin. We’ve celebrated the launch of our new Rum of the Month Box subscription, as well as a range of regular seasonal boxes featuring delicious craft tipples from tequila to ready-to-drink cocktails. This year’s expanded advent calendar range reflects these broadened horizons, with our signature 25-day Gin Advent Calendar being joined by our first ever Rum and G&T calendars, developed in response to customer demand. With this year’s trio of advent calendars, we’re so excited to share our passion for incredible craft spirits from independent distillers with a whole new audience of drinks lovers,” said Craft Gin Club founder and CEO Jon Hulme.

The products will also be available from John Lewis, Fortnum and Mason’s, and Amazon.