Pink Partnership

Allergen-friendly baked goods leader Sweet Loren’s Inc., New York, N.Y., partnered with Barbie maker Mattel Inc. on a co-branded refrigerated, pink, heart-shaped cookie dough. Each pack contains 12 pre-cut heart-shaped cookies that are easy to bake and ready in less than 15 minutes. Sweet Loren’s notes that it colors the cookies with natural extract from red beets instead of artificial colors. Its products also are free of the top 14-allergens (including gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts). The item debuted in January to retail stores nationwide and carries a suggested retail of $6.99.

Officials say the collaboration also entails a giveback component. Sweet Loren’s and The Barbie Dream Gap Project support Girls with Impact, an organization that empowers girls to pursue their business dreams.

Must-have Menu Option

Today’s competitive restaurant operators need to offer gluten-free items as cost of market entry. In fact, Datassential Menu Trends research (July 2024) shows “Gluten Free” has grown on menus by more than 30% during the past four years and currently boasts a 42.7% total menu penetration—with its highest incidence among American (20.5%) and Pizza (15.7%) menus. These facts led Tyson Foodservice, Springdale, Ark., to develop Tyson Gluten Free Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken Tenderloins.

Officials say the new breaded tenderloins deliver a “delicious, crispy, juicy bite that rivals traditional breaded chicken” while they’re also free of the top nine allergens.

Seasonal Treat

Macarooz, Cypress, Texas, celebrated the Christmas season and introduced refrigerated Sugar Cookie Mac Pops for $13.99 per 10-count pack in Costco stores. Officials say the offerings are crafted from up-cycled, gluten-free macarons and each Mac Pop comes dipped in chocolate and finished with a festive sprinkle topping.

Healthy Snacking

Mindful Eats LLC, Irvine, Calif., expanded its Krack'd Snacks line with several new items. New offerings include Mylk Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch and Mylk Chocolate Aloha Caramel, along with a Vegan Whyte Chocolate Pumpkin Spice PB Caramel Crunch. All products maintain all the dietary accommodations of being vegan, dairy-free, keto-friendly, gluten free, and diabetic-friendly.

Separately, the company also introduced protein cookies with the same dietary benefits and 11g of protein per serving. Varieties include Soft Baked Snickerdoodle, Soft Baked Whyte Chocolate Macadamia, and Soft Baked Peanut Butta.

Spread the News!

Organic and natural nut and seed butters processor Once Again Nut Butter, Nunda, N.Y., added new organic, gluten free graham crackers in Cinnamon, Honey and Chocolate flavors. Officials say they have just 1g of added sugar and feature a blend of organic sorghum flour, oat flour and cassava flour—plus a touch of organic cinnamon; real clover, Non-GMO Verified honey; or rich dark chocolate liquor. Once Again also added Chocolate and Peanut Butter to its line of organic, gluten free graham sandwiches.

“The launch of our graham sandwiches created quite a happy stir among our consumers, inspiring us to bring stand-alone crackers to market and build on our sandwich flavors,” said Shared Gael J. B. Orr, director of marketing. “Kids are enjoying the taste of our snacks, while adults are appreciating that they are cleaner upgrades of childhood favorites.”

Years in the Baking

Last fall saw T. Marzetti Company, Columbus, Ohio, introduce New York Bakery Gluten Free Texas Toast in Garlic and Five Cheese varieties.

“Creating this gluten-free bread has been an inspiring journey for us and is a testament to our unwavering commitment to quality and to our consumers,” said Izzy Laanaba, T. Marzetti senior director, brand management. “By leveraging cutting-edge techniques and our deep expertise, we’ve developed a dough-based recipe that replicates the flavor and texture of our classic breads.”

Flavorful Organic Soups

Organic and natural foods leader Amy’s Kitchen, Petaluma, Calif., introduced five soups “that celebrate both international cuisines and American Southern classics.” Officials said each soup is cooked from scratch with “organic ingredients, farm-fresh vegetables, and hearty grains.” New gluten-free offerings include North Indian-inspired Dal Makhani, Vegetable Jambalaya and 3 Bean Vegetable Chili. Additional flavors are Pasta Fagioli and Gumbo.

Amy's new soups are available at select grocery stores nationwide, including Albertson's, Amazon, Kroger, Safeway, Target, Walmart, with selection varying by store. Suggested retail is $3.99 to $4.99.

Growing Company

Holidaily Brewing Company, Golden, Colo., launched a crowdfunding campaign on Start Engine in late October. Holidaily said it plans to expand distribution (beyond its current nine states) and enhance product offerings. Officials also said the brewery is exploring new sustainable packaging solutions and developing new flavors. Holidaily notes that its flagship product, Favorite Blonde Ale, is the nation’s top-selling gluten-free and the brewery has seen exponential growth with a 1700% increase in sales since its inception.

“This is a chance for our fans to share in our success as we continue to grow, innovate, and lead the gluten-free beer movement,” said Karen Hertz, Holidaily Brewing founder. “We're not just brewing beer—we're providing a solution for millions of people who have been left out of the craft beer experience due to gluten sensitivities.”

Better Baking

Already known for organic breakfast and snack offerings, Nature's Path Foods Inc., Vancouver, B.C., introduced five line Organic Flours to the United States. A 32oz Organic Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour features oat flour, is certified gluten-free, and suitable for all recipes that specify “gluten-free all-purpose flour,” the company says.

Nature's Path Organic Flour is available at Hannaford, Woodman's, Raley's, and Hy-Vee stores in the U.S. as well as online directly from Nature's Path and Amazon.

Nostalgic Nosh

Quinn Foods LLC, Boulder, Colo., expanded its Pretzel Nuggets line with a “PB & J Berry” featuring peanut butter along with dried strawberry and raspberry. The nuggets are certified gluten-free, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan friendly, and made without corn, soy, wheat, or dairy. They launched Nationally in Sprouts in December, and online at Thrive Market in January.

“Growing up I ate a lot of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches. My go-to was a mix of strawberry and raspberry jellies, combined with creamy peanut butter on whole-wheat bread,” said Kristy Lewis, Quinn founder/CVO. “I ate them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an on-the-go snack! It was my fuel during car trips, school lunches, and during the after-school shuffle.”

From Basketball to Better Eating

NBA legend and San Antonio Spurs point guard Chris Paul embraced a plant-based diet in 2019 and introduced his Good Eat’n gluten free, non-GMO snack brand through GoPuff (GoBrands Inc.) in 2022. This November, the company announced that the company’s five-item plant-based line was available in more than 250 H-E-B stores across Texas.

The line includes 5oz Puffs (Hot Hot, Cinnamon Sugar) 6oz Tortilla Chips (Nacho Cheeze, Big Dill Ranch) and a 5oz Popcorn (Cookies N Creme Popcorn), which are found in H-E-B's “Healthy Living” department.