FoodStuff by Kevin Ryan
Why is Everything a Bowl Now? Plus, frozen innovation
Here is a link to my last newsletter, in case you missed it.
Here are the contents of this edition:
The Promise of Frozen: People want more innovation, what could that mean?
Breaking Out of Your Own Success: How to find your second big idea
Building a Bridge from Authentic to Mainstream: Pushing trial to normies
Everything is Now a Bowl: Why Are We Obsessed with Bowls and What’s Next?
Gut Reaction: My hot takes on new offerings
Tidbits: The latest in food industry news, from the profound to the funny
The Promise of Frozen
Kraft-Heinz’s Delimex brand is adding Crispy Quesadillas to its line. The line currently has two varieties: char-grilled chicken and chipotle chicken. The frozen product comes from the Kraft-Heinz 360Crisp team (responsible for Crispy Grilled Cheesies Lunchables) that utilizes proprietary technology to produce crisp textures from the microwave.
Coffeemaker Cometeer is launching their ’24 Days of Specialty Coffee’ advent calendar. Cometeer is unique in selling flash-frozen coffee from specialty roasters. Consumers add hot water to the frozen capsules, no coffee machines needed. The advent calendar is available starting Nov 4th and is available at the Cometeer website.
Dorot Gardens has redesigned and rebranded their line of frozen, pre-measured herbs and garlic cubes. The new design offers more vibrant colors and on-pack messaging. The new marketing campaign ‘Pop, Drop, Done’ is meant to convey the simplicity of using the product without the hassle of storing, chopping and keeping fresh herbs and garlic on hand.
Mart Frozen Foods has opened a $65 million high-tech factory in Idaho to produce its Oh!Tatoes product. The fully cooked, frozen, whole potatoes offer the taste and texture of a baked potato in 4 minutes in the microwave.
In time for Thanksgiving, Butterball has released a Cook from Frozen Premium Whole Turkey. The brand claims ‘freezer to oven in 10 minutes,’ requiring no thawing, basting, brining or seasoning. The consumer unwraps the frozen bird, places in a roasting container and bakes.
UK grocer Asda is introducing a pre-caramelized frozen crème brûlée. While frozen crème brûlée is not new, it usually requires the consumer to have a kitchen torch or broiler to finish the job and produce the signature crispy top. However, Asda’s Extra Special Classic Crème Brûlée comes with a pre-brûléed demerara sugar top.
So What? In the October edition of 84.50’s (Kroger’s analytics group) insight report, survey results showed that frozen food shoppers were most interested in seeing innovation in that category.
Frozen is a fascinating category. In the 1930s it was cutting edge tech, in the ‘50s it was fun TV dinners and meal shortcuts, and in the ‘60s through the ‘80s, frozen hit its stride with the rise of iconic freezer snacks (e.g., pizza rolls) and microwavable meals. However, somewhere between the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, frozen foods started losing their allure. With the dawn of the organic and natural movement, and the not-so-good quality of some of the original microwave products, frozen foods gained a reputation as being poor quality and overly processed.
However, in recent years, frozen has had a renaissance. Smaller households and Millennial (and now Gen Z) interest in diverse cuisines and more concern about waste/value is driving people back to the frozen aisle. Trader Joes was pivotal in stoking interest. Replacing the unappealing aisle of glass doors with a fun walkway of ethnically diverse food discoveries co-merchandised with candies and cookies was brilliant. However, the changing meal patterns of Millennial families (i.e., more eating out, desire to try different flavors) made frozen food’s longevity, and therefore price benefit, a key attribute. Together, in a time of inflationary post-COVID pressure, these qualities have made frozen a better value for today’s consumer.
While frozen might be picking up speed, as the survey above highlights, consumers want more. Much of the category still leverages frozen technology originally developed when Clarence Birdseye was still flash-freezing fish in the Arctic. Not that these technologies aren’t powerful, but there must be an infusion of new tech to meet the needs of next-gen shoppers. Products like the above are a move toward this new, frozen era. I see a few key areas of innovation potential here:
· Modularity and Customization: Frozen meals are known for their brick-like shape (e.g., Lean Cuisine meals) and uneven reheating. Consumers have little ability to customize or interact with the product. Instead, most of these products feel like reheating leftovers. There is an opportunity for the creation of frozen applications that allow consumers to feel like they are cooking. The Doront Gardens product above is the beginning of this trend.
· Non-Meal Categories: Frozen has made its name with meals and sides. However, the sensory characteristics of frozen could be revolutionary to snacks, beverages (such as Cometeer) and baking (e.g., ASDA Crème Brûlée). As consumers continue to snack more (mostly at home), the texture and temperature benefits of frozen provides a long runway of innovation possibilities.
· ‘Cleanest’ Foods: Frozen may allow for the ‘cleanest,’ simplest and most minimally processed food products imaginable, a must for next-gen consumers. However, technology is needed to make these products possible while still being convenient (see Oh!Tatoes above)
· Protein Quality and Convenience: We’ve all had frozen meals containing mystery meat cuts with shoe leather-consistencies. Just because they can freeze meat doesn’t mean it reheats well. With products like the Butterball Cook from Frozen, we see the potential for improvement.
Breaking Out of Your Own Success
At the recent Global Dairy Congress' World Dairy Innovation Awards 2024, three Chinese companies brought home major prizes. Inner Mongolia Yijiahao Cheese's Center-Filled Cheese Lollipop was the winner in the Manufacturing/Technology Innovation category. This product features soft cheese on a stick with fruit jam centers. Junlebao Dairy Group won Best Dairy Innovation with their OK Cheese Sausage. These small, bite-size cheeses mimic Vienna sausages in shape and halloumi in texture. Lastly, Yili Group won Best Dairy Drink with their Ambrosial Avocado Oatmeal Yogurt, a Greek yogurt blended with oatmeal and avocado puree.
The SIAL Food Expo just wrapped up in Paris and there were a number of interesting new products.
The Original Hummus Bar, from Lebanese brand Grapeful, won the 2024 Grocery Products Award. The line of bars combines ground chickpeas, grape molasses, almonds and flavorings to produce snacks with 7-12g of plant protein. Varieties include Tahini Orange, Dukkah Beetroot, and Cardamom Pistachio.
Estonian company Bal Snack showcased Grand Chips (or Potato Wafers). Basically long, extruded potato crisps in multiple flavors (Smokey BBQ, Spicy Wasabi, Sour Cream & Herbs, Cheese & Onion, Vinegar, and Chili & Lime.
So What?
"Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others."
- Pablo Picasso
Without capital or anything to compare themselves to, startup companies can create amazing new products. However, once success hits, you immediately feel pressure to find the next success to maintain momentum. What typically happens is that founders start pouring back over all the inputs that went into their previous accomplishments, hoping to uncover why they struck gold before (and how to strike it again). Often this, along with capital expenditures and Sales pressures, pushes them to repeat themselves, rehashing the same ideas again and again. Their launches start to look very similar to their previous ones as innovation becomes more standardized and stale.
To break out of this, I encourage brands (big and small) to take a step back and first recognize their own innovation patterns. Often, leaders don’t see that they are always following the same playbook. Once you see it, strive to bend or even break it. Challenge yourself with radical different ideas (like the ones above), that break the norms of the category.
Building a Bridge from Authentic to Mainstream
Fast-growing frozen dumpling brand Mila has partnered pastry chef Dominique Ansel (the creator of the Cronut®) to create their first-ever dessert dumpling. Replicating the ‘pop’ of their famous soup dumplings, these Chocolate Black Sesame Lava Dumplings combine oat dark chocolate and black sesame. Available for a limited time from Mila.
Shooka has launched their spiced tomato and garlic sauce. Based on the classic dish shakshuka, the jarred product is being called a ‘meal starter’ that can be customized to different proteins. Available on the brands website.
Babo’s Kitchen has launched Ghee-Roasted Granola, a gluten-free reimagination of the Ayurvedic sweet dish panjiri, common to the Indian subcontinent. Made with organic green lentils, popped lentils, melon seeds, coconut, almonds, herbal gum, ghee, and organic brown sugar. Available at Babo’s Kitchen.
So What? If you want to appeal to niche groups, you need to stay true to tradition. For these consumers, part of the experience of purchasing these items is ‘touching the authentic’ and following the ‘rules’ of heritage. However, as you move toward mainstream, you must widen your approach. These consumers need a bridge to the familiar.
The first time I had a hummus was when I was in college. I remember a friend’s mom encouraging me to try it by saying ‘its just bean dip.’ Similarly, I’ve had people talk about chapati by describing it as ‘Indian tortillas.’ These are bridges to the familiar that mainstream consumers need to trial the unknown.
The products above are doing a good job of trying to build these bridges. While they offer ‘authentic’ products for those niche consumers that need them, they have also seen the logic in product or messaging changes that takes the tradtional one step further.
Everything is Now a Bowl
Chopt Creative Salad Co. has launched a new LTO bowl in partnership with Smile Farms for Disability Employment Awareness Month. Until Nov 5, Chopt will be serving the new warm bowl made up of grains, roasted chicken, cabbage & cilantro blend, pepper jack cheese, radish, carrots, tortilla chips and Smile Farms Red Ranch dressing. 15% of all sales from the bowl will be donated to Smile Farms, helping provide individuals with disabilities with meaningful employment and enriching opportunities.
Trader Joes has launched a frozen Teriyaki Chicken Bowl. Based on the retailer’s very popular BBQ Teriyaki Chicken, the bowl combines the sauced chicken with rice, broccoli, bok choi, and carrots.
Scott & Jon’s has announced two new seafood bowl additions to their portfolio. Baja Fish Taco Bowl and the Lemon Butter Dill Salmon each feature the brand’s signature seafood along with vegetables and starch, rice and pasta respectively. Available early 2025.
Daring Foods is adding two new vegetarian bowl options to their lineup, Buffalo Mac and Cheese Plant Chicken Bowl and the Queso Burrito Plant Chicken Bowl. Each frozen entrée contains 17-19g of plant-based protein along with dairy-based cheese and vegetables. Available now at Albertsons, Target, and Publix stores.
So What? If you leave animal evolution alone long enough, every turns into a crab eventually. This is the curious phenomenon called carcinization. Even animals that are not related, on opposite sides of the planet, have been shown to evolve into a crab-like being. Scientists call it convergent evolution and it says something about how great being a crab is to survival. Having a tough shell, a flat body, sideways movement, and the ability to burrow, has benefits that nature rediscovers repeatedly.
I’d suggest there is a similar evolution in food, let’s call it bowlification. Basically, no matter the culinary trends we invent, all things eventually come back to bowls. From medieval trenchers to modern Chipotle or Cava orders, we just really like bowl food. Why?
I would contend we are seeing more bowl food now for several reasons:
Democratization of the Meal: Cuisine trends toward bowls tend to happen during transition points in culture. When we are trying to figure out what’s next, we break away from the traditional in search of the new. Bowls are a comfortable holding zone. Right now, people are questioning the classic ‘meat and 2 veg’ structure of the meal. How much protein do we need? What role should it play? What about more veg? Bowls upend the hierarchy of protein’s prominence and say “everything is equal.”
Ease of Assembly: ‘Plating’ is stressful in the era of social media and food media in general. Everything must look ‘just so.’ Bowls are more informal and less stressful.
Visual Health Aesthetics: That being said, bowls serve as a large canvas for displaying colorful veggies, fanned, cut protein and playful sauce drizzles. They tend to showcase healthy aesthetics (even when the rest of their components aren’t the healthiest).
Inattentive Eating: If you were to design a meal for someone that will be looking at a phone while eating and never use more than one hand, you’d likely arrive at a bowl. Every bite is mostly the same (and everything is bite-sized) so no need to look up from your TikTok feed.
Foodservice Efficiency: I’d be remiss not to mention why they’ve taken off in restaurants, especially fast casual. Bowls are anchored in base ingredients that can be bulk prepped (rice, greens, etc.) and put together via an assembly line set-up. This means they are perfect for high-volume, low-cost settings where you might need to cater to custom asks (like dietary restrictions). Bowls make traditional fast-food production (e.g., McDonalds) feel tedious in comparison.
GUT REACTION
TIDBITS
Business
Standing desks do not make you healthier, new study shows, and might lead to negative health outcomes
Mind your per diems: Meta fires staff (some who made $400K/year) for using $25 meal tickets to buy toothpaste
New tech firm Personifi AI launches Shazam pet collars that allow your dog or cat to speak (kind of)
Amazon exec tells employees, if they don’t like the return to office policy, they can find a new job
As Walgreens and CVS struggle, Walmart launches a prescription drug delivery service
Champagne sales are falling
Early reports indicate that TikTok might be helping creators manufacturers and bring their ideas to market
Food Industry
Nestle and General Mills update their AI systems for cereal support
The fastest growing snack brand in the US
Gen Z is buying a lot of expensive snacks
PepsiCo reacts to calls of shrinkflation with ‘bonus bags’
Amazon is trying out new things in grocery: an automated mini-warehouse and Amazon Grocery next to a Whole Foods
Whole Foods announced their 2025 food and beverage trends
Not to be outdone, Fresh Thyme Market has announced their 2025 trend list as well
Thinking of starting a restaurant? Here are the least competitive restaurant themes by state
Nestle says consumer uncertainty over presidential election is cutting into sales
Taco Bell has rolled out a ‘Name Your Price’ feature on their apps to help consumers budget
Doritos creates first ad filmed in space
Hormel sells their Health Labs business to Lyons Magnus
Why food recalls are everywhere right now
Chick-fil-A’s new multimedia app (Chick-fil-A Play) looks MUCH better and extensive than anticipated
The Doritos After Dark menu at LA’s Crypto Arena is an exercise in how many things you can add nacho cheese powder to
Interesting
How ‘fast’ is your nose at smelling? Really fast
A new pair of smart glasses will track what you eat and how you eat it
Busy schedules mean people are skipping lunch more
New luxury vacation trend: the floating breakfast
Chaos packaging (packing in unexpected packaging) draws attention
NFL players consume 80,000 Uncrustables a week?!
On his podcast, Scott Norton, founder of Sir Kensington’s, has a fascinating conversation with Nicolas Coleman about all things olive oil—worth a listen!
Is your child a picky eater? It might be genetic
Fun and Odd
Jell-o is launching a limited edition line of furniture
German police find that ordering ‘Pizza No 40’ at a Düsseldorf pizzeria comes with a an unusual (and illegal) condiment
Mysterious white blobs are washing up on shore in Canada, stumping scientists. One professor thinks its…Bisquick?!
British woman excited to see aurora borealis, discovers it was the lights from a local tomato factory
Wellness trend of the moment: Okra water
Every year I look forward to seeing the creative costumes from the Jimi Halloween or Mundane Halloween festival in Japan. These are costumes of everyday situations we rarely think about but we’ve all experienced—past years’ include:
