Give Back—With a Bang!

Last October saw New York City’s indie pop band, AJR, turn one of its 2020 hit songs into a sauce. AJR partnered with Small Axe Peppers, a mission-based hot sauce company also based in New York, to create BANG!, which features a medley of locally-sourced peppers from more than 30 community gardens throughout the Bronx and Queens.

Small Axe Peppers also offers The Bronx Red Hot Sauce (Red Serrano pepper), The Bronx Green Hot Sauce (Green Serrano pepper), Los Angeles Hot Sauce (Habanero Mango),The Baltimore (Habanero Ginger),  Queens 7 Hot Sauce (Jalapeño), the Detroit Hot Sauce (Ghost pepper), The Chicago Hot Sauce (red hot Jalapeño), The Oakland Hot Sauce (California Raisin) and The Texas Hot Sauce (Tangy Tamarindo). All products are $6.99 each and available on Amazon and on Small Axe Pepper’s website. BANG! can also be found on AJR’s web store.

Salsa Meets Sour Cream

Pre-made dips are one of the supermarket’s fastest growing food product categories, and consumers prefer quality dipping sauces made with fresh ingredients to complement their snacks and meals. By mixing fresh sour cream with authentic salsa flavors, Borden Dairy Co., Dallas, say it created a whole new type of salsa experience: Borden Creamy Salsa.

“Borden Creamy Salsa is a truly unique product offering, with no other salsa-sour cream combination currently offered on a wide scale,” said National Sales and Marketing Director Mike Arsenault. “With Borden Creamy Salsa, you get a fresh, delicious, one-of-a-kind snack your family will love along with the trusted name of Borden.”

Three flavors include Fire Roasted Creamy Salsa, with a smoky flavor notes; Hot Creamy Salsa (pictured) with a balance of pepper and spice; and Mild Creamy Salsa, which can top everything from tacos to meatloaf.

All Borden Creamy Salsas flavors will come in 12oz containers at a suggested retail price of $2.99 to $3.49.

Go Nuts!

Barcel USA, Coppell, Texas, expanded its Takis rolled tortilla chip brand into the snack nuts category.

Three new varieties of Takis Hot Nuts include Fuego, Takis signature hot chili pepper and lime variety; Flare, a savory snack with just a spark of heat from chili pepper lime; and Smokin’ Lime, a blend of smoky chipotle with a hint of lime. All three offerings feature peanuts and an additional flavor coating for what Barcel promotes as a “double crunch” with every bite.

“The opportunity to once again disrupt the market of salty snacks by bringing Takis unmatched intensity and flavor to the snack nuts category is something we could not pass up,” said Sandra Peregrina, marketing manager. “We know Takis brings excitement through intensity for our fans looking for an explosion of flavor, so we’re thrilled that our iconic brand can continue to satisfy snacking needs in an entirely new way.”

The nuts come packaged in 3.2oz bags and are available at distributors nationwide. Barcel USA is the snacking unit of Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo. Barcel’s other snack offerings include potato chips, corn snacks, popcorn, candy and spreads/toppings. The Takis line includes six hot and spicy rolled tortilla chip varieties.

Hot Stuff

For the first time, the masters of flavor at Pringles (a Kellogg Company brand) are introducing a full collection of spicy crisps dedicated to their heat-loving snack fans. The new Pringles Scorchin’ lineup adds fiery heat to three Pringles originals: Cheddar, BBQ and Chili & Lime.

“We’ve launched spicy flavors in the past, but Pringles Scorchin’ is our first dedicated collection,” said Gareth Maguire, senior director of marketing for Pringles. “As we created this collection, we knew spice was important, but we also wanted to preserve the insanely accurate flavors our fans have come to expect from our products.”

The new Pringles Scorchin’ flavors sell for an MSRP of $1.99 for a 5.5oz can and were initially available through a limited release in retailers nationwide beginning in December 2020.

Shamelessly Spicy

Say salud to sweet and spicy! Diageo, maker of Smirnoff No. 21, expanded its Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind flavor to more than 15 new US markets. The new drink comes with a colorful Día De Muertos-inspired design that actually glows in the dark in blacklight. Officials say the new flavor combines sweet tamarind flavor with notes of spicy Mexican chilies and lime.

“With the expansion of Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind in the US, we’re inviting more consumers who are looking for a sweet and spicy treat, to enjoy Spicy Tamarind with their loved ones during a festive time of year,” said Gustavo Salguero, brand manager, Smirnoff. “While Spicy Tamarind is now becoming an iconic flavor in Mexico, we’re also seeing an increasing trade and consumer interest for this sweet and spicy spirit in the US, as it is an authentic flavor those 21+ can easily enjoy at-home.”

Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind has 35% alcohol by volume (ABV) and a suggested retail price of $12.99 for a 750ml bottle.  It is also available in 50ml bottles. Spicy Tamarind will be available permanently in some markets and for a limited time only in others.