Here is a link to my last newsletter, in case you missed it.
In this week’s newsletter:
CPG companies+gym culture: Why food and bev are working on their fitness
The Case for Waste: Why talking about waste is a great message
Innovation Leadership: You don’t know what a good idea looks like
New Product Gut Reaction: The WOW! and the WHAT?
Experience This: Why building experiences means more than ever
TIDBITS: Fun and interesting news from the world of food and the food industry
Why CPG companies are hitting the gym
General Mills and Ghost (a supplement and energy drink brand) are joining forces to produce Ghost cereal. The two new cereals are Ghost Protein Peanut Butter and Ghost Protein Marshmallow. The cereals have 18g and 17g protein, respectively, and are available only on the Ghost website for now (retail distribution expected later this month).
Kellogg’s and Six Star Nutrition (“America’s #1 selling Sports Nutrition brand”) are partnering to launch 100% Whey Protein Plus Froot Loops Drink. Available exclusively at Sam’s Club, the drink has 30g of protein per serving. Six Star and Kellogg’s already produce whey protein mixes in Frosted Flakes and Froot Loop flavors.
FitBites has launched a whey protein isolate blend that makes shakes inspired by popular bubble tea flavors. Each shake has 25g of protein and ¼ the calories of a comparable bubble tea. Flavors include creamy matcha, milk tea, taro shake, brown sugar milk tea, durian, honeydew melon, black sesame and chrysanthemum tea. Available at FitBites.
Warrior, the KBF Enterprises’ sports nutrition brand, has launched an expansion to their mini-protein bar line. The new low sugar White Chocolate Brownie bar has 10g milk protein. The bars are available at the brand’s website and participating UK retailers.
Arla Foods Ingredients is launching a new protein beverage specifically designed for e-athletes. The sugar-free drink, launching first in South America, contains 15g protein, 3767mg of branched-chain amino acids, as well as nutrients to help with concentration and vision (e.g., taurine, magnesium, zinc, caffeine and vitamins A, B3, B6 and B12).
Muscle Milk, a PepsiCo brand, is launching a plant-based line. The beverages contain 25-30g protein per serving and will be available in two flavors: Chocolate and Caramel Vanilla. As part of the launch, Muscle Milk is launching a campaign with WNBA’s Candace Parker, MLB star Julio Rodriguez, and global soccer superstar Christian Pulisic.
So What? In the gym and fitness business, Gen Z is called Generation Active due to their higher than gen pop involvement with exercise and gym membership. In addition, more than half of this generation are taking vitamins or supplements at least once a week:
If you add to this Gen Z’s extremely strong connection to fitness brands and influencers (e.g., 71% are using an influencers’ digital platforms), it’s not surprising that CPG companies are anxious to merge their offerings. By combining the language, ingredients and brands of fitness culture with the nostalgia and forms of the food/bev industry, CPG is able to connect with a demographic that they desperately need to survive.
However, I think we’ve only scratched the surface here. While CPG will do a great job using flavors and convenient forms to leverage gym culture, that will not be adequate beyond an LTO. To fully engage and keep Gen Z, I see three key vectors that are needed to take this collaboration to the next level:
1. Mental Health Focus: While gym culture immediately takes us to protein as a functional benefit of gym culture, the numbers indicate something different. While 47% of survey participants say that they “work out to look good,” the three top reasons for their interest in fitness are mental wellness, intrinsic motivation and the chance to be part of a community. CPG must elevate this part of the equation within their marketing or risk losing out on the main motivators.
2. Social Connection: 81% of Gen Z gym goers are doing group fitness classes. Combine this with the above data about fitness providing a sense of community and the power of social media with this group, and you see that finding personal connection is pivotal. Therefore, any brand that plays here should seriously consider amplifying the social connection or risk just being another protein supplement.
3. Sustainability/Ethical Importance: Among Gen Z, interest in sustainability and ethical fair play is high. While it might not lead to a willingness to pay more, it could be a differentiator in (what is likely to become) a crowded market. So far, I haven’t seen any of these brands adding a sustainability element, but it should be in a phase 2.
Waste Humanizes Sustainability
MYOM is a new oat milk concentrate in the UK. The just-add-to-water, shelf-stable pouches provide “full bodied oat milk with a fabulous taste and silky texture.” Available via a subscription, the recyclable pouches arrive in a six-pack. MYOM is fortified with calcium, iodine, vitamin B12 and D3. Available via the company’s website.
Similarly, JOI (“Just One Ingredient”) has a line of almond and cashew milk concentrates that can be rehydrated to produce drinkable milks or for use in cooking. The company recently discussed their three-prong go-to-market strategy, working to expand beyond DTC in foodservice, retail, and outdoor and recreational outlets (like airports).
Famed ice cream purveyor Salt & Straw has announced their Pints of the Month as the Upcycled Food Series. Working with Urban Gleaners, a non-profit that collects excess food waste from restaurants, grocery stores, and college campuses, S&S is creating inspired flavors. The pints include: Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Banana Bread, Passionfruit Yuzu Mochi Donuts & Whey Curd, Malted Chocolate Barley Milk, Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownies, and Cacao Pulp & Chocolate Stracciatella Gelato. Available on the S&S website.
Cereal, granola and oat producer Seven Sundays has announced that they have officially received distribution at Costco stores across the US. The brand’s Real Cocoa Sunflower Cereal will be available in a 16-ounce bag. The product is made with 8 ingredients including cocoa, upcycled sunflower protein, Medjool dates, and coconut sugar.
Singapore-based Confetti Snacks has won the SNAC Tank Pitch Competition at SNAC International’s SNX 2024. Confetti Snacks takes ‘ugly’ produce and upcycles it into veggie chips.
Hellman’s, a Unilever brand, is out with a new app called Meal Reveal that promises to help consumers waste less. Using the consumer’s camera and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform, Meal Reveal creates recipe suggestions that use up leftovers food and ingredients.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream founder Jeni Britton has launched Floura Bars (via a Kickstarter). The upcycled bars are made from 12 unique plants, along with multiple fibers and fermented fiber. Beyond its sustainability vision (“redirect over 100 million pounds of fresh produce trimmings from the waste stream and into our microbiome”), the bars also aim to help consumers with inflammation. Flavors include Mango Lassi, Vanilla Rooibos, and Matcha Blueberry.
So What? Humans aren’t very good at thinking about big things. Our ancestors lived in small groups, spent their lives in a relatively small area, and typically never had a need to count over a 100.
That’s why today, we are so lousy at understanding truly large concepts like the size of the universe, logarithmic growth (e.g., pandemics), or the idea of climate impact. While intellectually we may understand the science, intuitively our role in something like the environment seems negligible when it comes to the expanse of the larger world.
That’s why, compared to so many other sustainability initiatives by brands, products and services that highlight waste reduction (either the consumers’ or the manufacturers’) feels more impactful. Products like MYOM or JOI and services like Meal Reveal provide a tangible and creative connection for consumers that make the large concept of sustainability personal.
Upcycling is similar in that it is an easy concept for consumers to grasp, that also has the added benefit of built in storytelling and an aura of authenticity. To explain upcycling, you must discuss the care and purposefulness that is put into the process. For consumers who view food production as soulless, uncaring automation, this hint of attention on the part of manufacturers is a powerful differentiator.
You Don’t Know What a Good Idea Is
I’ve seen this scene repeated hundreds of times, but it always amazes me. The innovation team at a company completes a major project. They’ve analyzed reams of data, talked to scores of consumers, and created and tested concepts successfully. They show their results to leadership, and someone inevitably will say: “these ideas don’t seem very innovative, we’ve done something like this before and it didn’t work.”
Result: crestfallen team now forced to rework output to ‘wow’ leadership with results that they see as innovative. Launch fails, leadership blames original project team.
To understand what’s wrong with this situation, let’s examine that statement: “these ideas don’t seem very innovative, we’ve done something like this before and it didn’t work.”
1. “These ideas don’t seem very innovative…”: If people could spot winning ideas just by looking at them companies could shut down their research and innovation groups altogether. Anyone that says this is really saying “these ideas aren’t novel.” People often confuse innovation and novelty and think that an idea must be breathtakingly new to the category in order to win. However, if you look at something like Circana’s 2023 Pacesetters report of the top performing food/beverage products you are immediately struck by how UN-novel the top launches are: energy drinks, zero sugar soft drinks and chicken sandwich sauces. Yeah, if I saw these written up as concepts, I think I’d categorize them all as decidedly NOT innovative. Consumers rarely want novel, it’s too risky. Instead, they want something that is an improvement on the familiar.
2. “…we’ve done something like this before and it didn’t work”: Have you really though? You launched this product against this demographic, this psychographic, in this channel, with this need/job to be done, with this advertising and support, at this moment in time before? That’s weird. The problem here is that too many people just judge an idea or concept based on one dimension (e.g., package or flavor) and ignore the complex mix of other factors it embodies. As the proverb says, you never step into the same river twice. Well, you never launch in the same category twice either. Saying anything different indicates jadedness more than wisdom.
How should these meetings go instead?
The best I’ve ever seen was a CEO that listened intently to the results of the research, tasted the prototype, and asked tough but fair questions of the team. Then turned to the group and said: “I hate the way this product tastes and I’m not a fan of the package, however I’m 25 years older than your target. Now, I have issues with some of your strategy but based on the work you’ve done, the positive scores you’ve received, and the empathy you’ve built for this consumer, my role now is to ask what you need from me to make this work.”
GUT REACTION
The Bridge Between Food and Medicine is Shorter Than You Think
Knorr, a Unilever brand, has revealed a product concept they are testing called SuperCubes. The product looks like a bouillon cube but would actually do the opposite, reduce the flavor impact of certain bitter compounds for people that are sensitive (i.e., supertasters). This could help kids (and adults) that avoid bitter vegetables like broccoli or cabbage. Knorr has tested the product at a pop-up in Stockholm and may launch it in retail in 2025.
Happy Fruit, a company that makes THC-infused candies, is launching a new line of gummies made with THCV (Tetrahydrocannabivarin) or AKA ‘diet weed.’ The compound is known to help suppress appetite and is offered as a natural supplement for weight loss. Varieties include: Lifted Limeade, Lifted Lemonade and Ocean Breeze.
Swiss company Brain Ritual is launching the first ‘migraine-reducing food’ in the US market. MigraKit is a sachet of “bioactive electrolytes, antioxidants, a multitude of vitamins & minerals, and bioactive ketone bodies” that help the body manage migraines. Available as a 15-day kit via the company’s website.
Tea and snack maker/health system company JouleBody is out with a new mid-day energy bar. Cacao Cascara Superfood Seedbar contains a seed protein blend of chia, hemp, flax, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds, as well as cacao, cascara, dates, and goji. The company advises eating at 12 PM as part of their JouleBody System. Available on the company’s website.
Functional gummy maker OLLY has launched a new kid’s cognitive supplement called Brainy L’OLLY Pops. The lollypop-shaped supplements, available in two varieties, are said to provide either mental focus (Focus Buddies) or calm (Mellow Buddies) for kids. Available on the OLLY website or select retailers.
Carbe Diem is a new brand being launched out of General Mills’ G-Works studio. The 100% wheat pasta is made up of a mix of the component parts of the wheat berry, more protein, more fiber, and resistant starch. This gives the resulting pasta 55% less net carbs and 110 calories per serving (compared to traditional pasta’s 200 calories). Available as fettuccine, rotini, penne, elbows, and spaghetti on the brand’s website and Amazon.
Wellness company Kroma has launched a nutrient-dense Super Ramen. The chicken bone broth-based product uses gluten free mung bean noodles along with collagen, coconut, turmeric, reishi, and 15g protein. Ready in 5 minutes. (Currently sold out but available for pre-order).
So What? For years the food industry has been hinting at the ‘food as medicine’ trend and pondering when it will finally happen.
The truth is, it’s already here, we are just lost in semantics. By using the term ‘medicine’ we’ve confused ourselves thinking that the final version of this trend will occur when products offer clinical-level benefits via a packaged food or beverage. However, that ignores consumer’s definition of what constitutes medicine today.
While technically there is a sharp demarcation between pharmaceuticals, supplements and foods/bev, for many consumers these lines are arbitrary. Over the last few decades, as the onus for wellness has fallen heavier on the consumer (see consumers being served up pharmaceutical commercials), how someone stays mentally and physically healthy has become a hodgepodge of personal decisions. Ask a consumer how they manage their cholesterol, and they will just as likely mention oatmeal, fiber supplements and meditation as they will Lipitor.
‘Food as medicine’ is only a struggle for big CPG companies because they are struggling to pin down the legality of claims. Whereas from the consumers’ POV that reality is now. Instead of trying to bridge the gap by striving toward defendable claims, companies should be looking at the more emotional and traditional meaning of food to support overall wellbeing. Not necessarily in a GOOP-ified way, but in a basic “I feel better when I eat better’ one.
Harder Working Experiences
Starbucks has launched a ‘swicy’ new line of Spicy Lemonade Refreshers and Spicy Cream Cold Foam. Both make use of Starbucks Spicy Chili Powder Blend. The lemonades come in three varieties (Spicy Dragonfruit, Spicy Pineapple and Spicy Strawberry), whereas the Spicy Cold Foam is a standalone launch. Available this Spring in Starbucks shops.
Sprite will be launching Sprite Chill soon. The new beverage will combine the familiar flavor of Sprite with cherry and lime along with a ‘cooling effect.’ Anticipated to launch this summer.
Bomb Pop, makers of frozen popsicles, is out with Bomb Pop Extremes. The new product is described as “starting extreme and finishing sweet.” Each frozen treat has three layers of stimulation, starting with either super sour, spicy or cooling and a final layer of sweet. Varieties include Blue Raspberry Freeze, Super Sour Strawberry, and Fire Cherry.
UK frozen novelty brand Wall’s is launching Twister Berry-licious. The product is being marketed as the “first ice cream to naturally colour tongues blue.” The sweet is made with real fruit juice and no artificial flavors or colors.
Natural gum and candy maker Simply has partnered with Whole Foods to launch Peanut Butter Crispies, made with peanuts, puffed quinoa, dark chocolate, and coconut sugar. The bars are vegan, Non-GMO, gluten-free, and made with Direct Trade Chocolate. Available at Whole Foods Market exclusively for the first 90 days (and at Simply’s website).
Snoop Dogg’s Dr. Bombay Ice Cream has made April 19th the inaugural Dr. Bombay Day and celebrated with the launch of a new ice cream: Strawberry Cream Dream. The new product is a mix of strawberry sherbet and vanilla ice cream with golden sandwich cookies and strawberry jam swirls. Available at most US retailers and GoPuff.
So What? A lot of foods and beverages today are ‘harder working’ from a functional perspective, for example we’ve got V-8 juice that gives us energy and ice cream with protein . However, I’m starting to see more products that are emotionally and experientially harder working.
Maybe it’s economical or just the evolving expectations of consumers, but people want products that give them more in the way of an experience. That means they don’t want a popsicle that is monotone strawberry from beginning to end, instead they want it to change and morph throughout (i.e., why have one experience per product when you can have three?). Similarly, they want a beverage that shifts from sweet to spicy or smooth to creamy.
How are you changing up the experience within your product?
TIDBITS
Consumer Reports wants the USDA to drop Lunchables from school lunch programs claiming they have more sodium than retail versions
Google’s Food Mood AI fuses two cuisines together and generates recipe inspiration and a faux photo
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has revealed the first product from her new lifestyle brand (American Riviera Orchard): posh strawberry jam
McDonald’s offsetting California wage hike by…selling bagels?
The sad extinction of America’s all-night diner (and 24/7 restaurants and stores in general)
Very well written article on modern wealth+diet: Why don’t rich people eat anymore?
Ghost kitchens are disappearing
‘Chili Crunch’ drama: David Chang apologizes and says there will be no trademark enforcement of the trademark
How high tech MRI ‘fingerprinting’ is cleaning up the fake gin industry.
WSJ exposé says Amazon pressured ex-Trader Joe’s employee to give up secret data
The fall of AllBirds and what it means for DTC
New McDonald’s billboards smell like French fries
Crocs with Pringles holsters
Red Lobster considers bankruptcy after the all-you-can-eat shrimp debacle
Jerry Seinfeld, along with seemingly every comedian alive, has made a (mostly fictional) movie about the origin of Pop Tarts called “Unfrosted”—this looks funny!
New study says that the ‘rise and grind’ culture leads to depression by 50
Amazon is now selling its smart grocery carts to other retailers
Zepbound, the next gen of Ozempic-like drugs, is found to help with sleep apnea
Walmart-backed Ibotta surges 33% in market debut
Swiss group accuses Nestle of adding sugar to infant formula in the developing world
TikTok is full of Dorm Room Gourmet videos
Tiny stores incoming—Whole Foods Market Daily Shop and Trader Joe’s Pronto
NYC fast food shop replaces cashier with woman on Zoom in the Philippines
Do you need a coffee purse?