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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.
Halo Top pops into frozen yogurt treats
Low-calorie dessert maker Halo Top is scooping into another new category: Frozen yogurt pops.
Halo Top’s Frozen Yogurt Bars are essentially a snack of doctored-up Icelandic-style skyr yogurt on a stick. They are made with frozen yogurt, but also include chunks of fruit and granola. The pops come in two flavors: Triple Berry — blueberry, raspberry and strawberry — and Strawberry.
“Our fans know and love our ice creams and other frozen dessert options, but we wanted to give them a go-to snack for any time of day that brings all the indulgence of Halo Top plus a burst of protein and flavor,” Halo Top brand manager Pete Gargula said in a statement. “An Icelandic Skyr style frozen yogurt pop was the perfect solution.”
Once the U.S.’s top-selling brand of pint ice cream, Halo Top has hopped into new categories as its once meteoric ice cream sales fell. In 2020, the brand launched its own ice cream bars. A year later, Halo Top started to make frozen fruit pops. Last year, it launched pints of reduced-sugar fruit sorbet.
Halo Top Frozen Yogurt Bars are the second big innovation from the Wells Enterprises-owned brand this year. In 2023, it seems Halo Top is expanding the brand farther from its ice cream roots, launching baking mixes in January and now frozen yogurt bars. Right now, Halo Top doesn’t have any other yogurt options, frozen or refrigerated.
Not many brands have gotten into the frozen yogurt bar space. The only widely distributed bar in the space is made by frozen Greek yogurt treat leader Yasso, but those are mostly in more indulgent flavors, like Birthday Cake and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Outshine, owned by Nestle and licensed to Froneri, used to have a line of healthier yogurt pops, but those have been discontinued.
Better-for-you treats are Halo Top’s specialty. While there’s not much that feels indulgent about a frozen version of a healthy yogurt snack, that might be the point. Consumers know that Halo Top’s offerings have fewer undesirable nutritional aspects, and they sometimes enjoy a treat that actually feels wholesome.
— Megan Poinski
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Courtesy of Barcel USA
Takis fans the flames with non-spicy nacho cheese snacks
Consumers who prefer to avoid snacks that are flamin’, scorchin’ or red hot can now give cult favorite Takis a try without fearing the burn.
The popular snack brand known for its spicy rolled chips has debuted a line of non-spicy nacho cheese snacks. The new flavors come in three varieties: Rolled Chips, Waves chips — which bear similarity to Frito-Lay’s Ruffles — and Pop popcorn.
Takis is owned by Coppell, Texas-based Barcel USA, which brands itself as an “exciting, young and fast-growing” CPG company. Its product line has grown from its rolled tortilla chips to include other varieties, including Waves, Watz, Stix, Pop and Hot Nuts.
The brand has found viral success in recent years — boasting nearly 2 million TikTok followers — especially among younger consumers. Gen Z increasingly craves spicier snacks, with 73% saying they buy them, according to a 2021 survey by The Harris Poll. Coinciding with the Takis launch is a new marketing campaign featuring DJ Steve Aoki, who created a new song for the brand.
The new snack line will compete with established nacho tortilla chip brands like Frito-Lay’s Doritos. The PepsiCo-owned stalwart brand has debuted spicy rolled tortilla chips in recent years, including Dinamita Flamin’ Hot Queso.
Barcel also aims to differentiate the new line through sustainable packaging. According to the press release, the bags of the new Takis flavors are all recyclable through its partnership with TerraCycle, which requires consumers to mail in the packaging with a prepaid shipping label.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Unique Snacks
Unique Snacks gives the pretzel a new twist
Unique Snacks has spent most of its history making pretzel snacks, but now the sixth-generation family business is bringing insight to a new category that doesn’t stray too far from its roots.
The Pennsylvania-based food maker is moving into other snack categories through the introduction of an entirely new option called Puffzels — a combination of puffs and pretzels.
The gluten-free, non-fried snack is made of corn and oats that are puffed and formed in the shape of a pretzel. The snack with a “fun pretzel crunch” is available in four flavors: Honey Mustard, Aged Cheddar, Wild Buffalo and Homestyle (garlic and butter).
“Living up to the Unique Snacks brand name is a fun challenge, and we wanted to create a new snack unlike anything on the market,” Justin Spannuth, the company’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.
The 100-year-old company said it hasn’t changed the way it makes pretzels much during its lifetime. It still uses five primary ingredients and avoids adding sugar to proof its pretzels. But the business has stepped up the pace of innovation to keep up with other salty snack competitors.
Puffzels allows Unique to bring a new shape to the popular snacking category, while tapping into the growing demand for both puffs and pretzels.
The $36 billion salty snack category is dominated by companies such as PepsiCo with brands including Doritos and Cheetos, as well as more recent entrants such as confectionery maker Hershey, which has purchased brands including SkinnyPop popcorn and Dot’s pretzels.
With deep-pocketed giants using their innovative heft and marketing expertise to grow their market share, smaller players like Unique need to find new and novel ways through products like Puffzels to catch the consumer’s attention.
— Christopher Doering
