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.
Kraft Mac & Cheese gets a premium upgrade
Kraft Mac & Cheese is offering a new way for consumers to recreate the restaurant experience at home with new premium pastas.
Kraft Mac & Cheese Restaurant Edition is the brand's first line of restaurant-inspired elevated flavors. The launch includes three options: Parmesan Pesto, Romano Cacio e Pepe and Monterey Jack Caramelized Onion.
"Restaurant Edition brings quality, affordability, and the experience of dining out together – all without leaving home," Sara Roashan, associate director of mac & cheese innovation at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement. "Consumers crave restaurant-inspired flavors, and we knew Kraft Mac & Cheese could make them more accessible without demanding a high level of kitchen expertise."
Similar to Kraft's classic blue box macaroni and cheese, Restaurant Edition is prepped by simply adding butter and milk. Kraft Heinz tested more than 40 flavors and developed unique pasta shapes to better cling to the cheesy sauce.
Kraft Heinz is positioning the launch as a premium option as inflation pushes more consumers to eat at home and try to recreate the restaurant experience themselves. Kraft said Restaurant Edition can feed a family of four for less than $1 per serving and "is meant to mirror restaurant-style mac and cheese in all facets but one: price."
Kraft Heinz has reinvigorated brands such as Kraft Mac & Cheese and Lunchables as sales slide due to inflation and shifting consumers preferences toward perceived healthier options or premium ingredients. Last month, Kraft Mac & Cheese launched PowerMac, which is fortified with protein and fiber, to offer consumers more nutritional value at a lower price point.
— Sarah Zimmerman
Pabst puckers up to Grillo’s pickles
Pabst Blue Ribbon is hoping consumers will relish its latest innovation.
The brewer is collaborating with cult favorite pickle brand Grillo’s for PBR Pickle Beer, which contains 4.7% alcohol by volume and a “dill-forward punch,” the companies said in a statement.
Pickle Beer will roll out nationwide on May 4 at retailers including Walmart, Alberstons, Safeway and Publix. It’s available for a limited time.
“I don’t think the founder of Pabst saw this one coming,” Rachel Keeton, senior brand director for Pabst, said in a statement. “But somewhere along the line, someone put a pickle in a beer and never looked back. We’re taking that ritual and making it official with Grillo’s.”
With its latest collaboration, Pabst is tapping into consumer thirst for pickle-flavored offerings, even in unconventional places. The 182-year-old beer brand has partnered with other food companies on product innovation to maintain relevance as beer consumption declines.
PBR recently announced it will work with Smithfield on a beer-infused brat this summer, and last year it collaborated with Campbell’s on beer-infused soups.
Likewise, Grillo’s is no stranger to such collaborations. It has collaborated with Liquid IV on an electrolyte mix, with Campbell’s on a V8 Bloody Mary cocktail mix and with Two Robbers vodka soda on a hard seltzer.
— Laurel Deppen
Candy bars enter the freezer aisle
The candy bar aisle is getting a cool makeover.
Ferrero North America is bringing Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and 100 Grand to the freezer aisle through its ice cream subsidiary Wells Enterprise. The move taps into consumer demand for multi-textural experiences particularly within candy, desserts and other indulgent categories.
"The ice cream bar category has long been defined by simplicity, including smooth coatings, uniform textures, and straightforward formats," Isabella Chia, chief marketing officer at Wells Enterprises, said in a statement. "With Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and 100 Grand, we didn't just translate a candy bar into a frozen format. We engineered each bar from the inside out, starting with the texture that made those candies iconic and building up from there."
The ice cream segment is valued at more than $19 billion in the U.S, according to Mintel. The sector has seen an explosion in innovation as more companies bring their products to the frozen aisle.
Catherine Bertrac, senior vice president of marketing for Kinder and FMC North America at Ferrero, said the company "saw an opportunity to meet fans in a new occasion" with the candy ice cream bars. The sweets giant also could introduce the brands "to a new generation of consumers who are discovering these icons for the first time."
Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and 100 Grand ice cream candy bars are available at retailers nationwide and sold in packs of six.
Ferrero isn't the only one transforming classic candy bars into ice cream. Magnum Ice Cream Company teamed with Hershey this week to launch Almond Joy and Reese's crunch peanut butter ice cream bars, according to Food Business News.
— Sarah Zimmerman
