Mini Bagels 

General Mills’ Convenience & Foodservice Division has created Pillsbury Mini Bagels for K-12 school foodservice operators.

“Kids love bagels and cream cheese, but the slicing and spreading makes them a hassle to serve,” says General Mills to operators. “By putting creamy Neufchatel cheese on the inside, Pillsbury Mini Bagels take care of the mess for both you and your kids. And the low-labor, thaw-and-serve convenience of Mini Bagels makes them way easier than traditional bagels.”

Pillsbury Mini bagels come in Cinnamon and Strawberry flavors. Product testing shows that kids like the bagels’ softer texture as well as the creamy Neufchatel cheese flavors on the inside, says General Mills.

Meanwhile, the bagels help operators meet USDA whole-grain rich criteria and two-grain equivalents. These individually wrapped products also provide easy, thaw-and-serve preparation. They are ideal for grab-and-go breakfast locations or even breakfast in the classroom or other locations.

The General Mills Convenience & Foodservice Division serves the convenience, foodservice and bakery industries. Its brand portfolio includes Big G Cereals, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Gold Medal, Pillsbury, Chex Mix, Bugles and Gardetto’s.

Specialty Flatbreads

Flatbread sales have been on the rise since 2009 and consumers are identifying with flatbreads’ soft, chewy consistency and versatility. With that in mind, Rich Products Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., developed Our Specialty Flatbreads, a new 10-item line for retail in-store bakery and deli operators.

“The Our Specialty Flatbreads variety provides consumers with numerous options to satisfy this demand for bread alternatives,” says Rich’s. “They provide a baked-in, oven-fired hearth flavor with a light, fresh and delicious taste, making them perfect for any food occasion—breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks.”

Varieties include Original Naan, Garlic Cheese Naan, Original Pita, Wheat Pita, Original Rustic Flats, Italian Herb Flats, Chipotle Flats, Garlic & Herb Pizza Crust, White Sandwich Flats and Multigrain Sandwich Flats.

Rich’s says the flatbreads ship frozen but come fully finished and in retail-ready packaging, which requires very little work from product operators. For their part, consumer can easily pick up a package for ready-to-eat sandwiches, pizzas, etc., and customize their experience. Rich’s even provides consumer recipe ideas at
www.OurSpecialty.com.

Vegan Cheesecakes

“Vegan cheesecake is an oxymoron. We know—but we’ve created such a rich and creamy vegan dessert, we couldn’t resist calling it ‘cheesecake,’” says The Eli’s Cheesecake Company. With that, the Chicago firm has created two new pre-packaged vegan desserts for retail in-store bakeries. The new varieties are Belgian Chocolate and Carrot Cake.

“A traditional cheesecake is created using cream cheese, sour cream, butter and eggs. Our Vegan Cheesecakes are made with locally sourced, GMO-free tofu. They’re also certified vegan, dairy free and egg free,” says Sarah Duff Zupancic, Eli’s senior marketing manager.

Zupancic says tofu (from Chicago’s Phoenix Bean company) has a neutral flavor and can closely mimic the creamy texture of dairy products. Eli’s uses it as a base for the Vegan Cheesecake batter. The company also uses a dairy-free cream cheese-style ingredient from Daiya Foods.

Eli’s says its Vegan Belgian Chocolate Cheesecake features semi-sweet Belgian chocolate, tofu, an “old-fashioned” cocoa cake and a dusting of cocoa. Carrot Cake features vanilla cheesecake made with tofu. It also has scratch-recipe carrot cake made with pecans, cinnamon, ginger and molasses.