Dive Brief:
- Hershey's Krave jerky brand has debuted a new line of meat snacks, called the Krave Bar, which the company had announced earlier this year, according to a news release.
- These meat bars contain pork, beef or turkey combined with quinoa and dried fruit and do not use nitrates or artificial ingredients.
- In keeping with Krave jerky's brand proposition, the new meat snacks line comes in exotic flavors: Chipotle Cherry Beef, Cranberry Thyme Turkey, Mango Jalapeño Pork and Wild Blueberry Beef.
Dive Insight:
Hershey first announced this line along with its first-quarter earnings report in April. The company initially slated the new meat snacks line for an August launch, and it's unclear why that was delayed. But Krave said in its news release that it had performed months of recipe and nutritional testing to ensure consumers could enjoy better-for-you foods that did not sacrifice on flavor.
While Hershey hasn't given up on its flagship chocolate brands, the company is clearly pushing to further expand its portfolio — and sales growth potential — into better-for-you products like meat snacks and protein bars. Consumer demand has trended toward meat snacks in recent years, which made Krave an attractive acquisition target for Hershey in early 2015.
But instead of only innovating with flavors and ingredients, Hershey has decided to extend Krave into nearby subcategories, which maximizes reach among meat snack consumers. Krave also continues to explore combinations of sweet and savory flavors in its products, which is one of the characteristics that separated Krave from other jerky brands in the first place.