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Naturally Healthy GOURMET NEWS JULY 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 8 Harvest Snaps Launches Salad Toppers Calbee North America introduced Harvest Snaps Salad Toppers™ Green Pea Crisps this year at Natural Prod- ucts Expo West. Made from farm-picked green peas as the first ingredient, this new product delivers what salad enthusiasts have been seeking for years: a topper with a crispy crunch that is not too hard, comes in vi- brantly delicious flavors, and provides a natural source of plant protein and fiber all while being en- tirely gluten free. Finally, there's a no-sac- rifices way to add texture and a burst of flavor to salads. Clocking in at only 30 calories per serv- ing, this baked (never fried!) topper is also certified gluten-free, vegetarian friendly, plus completely free of artificial flavors, colors, cholesterol, and the com- mon allergens soy, nuts, wheat and eggs. Three flavors are offered. Garlic Butter is the classic flavor that pairs beauti- fully with the naturally sweet taste of green peas. Italian Herb is seasoned with oregano, parsley and a bit of gar- lic, and Chipotle brings out the heat for those who like their flavors bold. "Our goal is to make salad fun again and toss up a category that's been long repre- sented by hard, bread-based, croutons or dried fruit and seeds," said Paul Laubscher, Director of Marketing with Calbee North America. "Harvest Snaps has always been in the produce aisle, so creating a veg- etable-first salad topper was a natural prod- uct extension. We're excited for people to start crunching better, while enjoying nat- urally delicious flavors and a perfectly crispy texture." In addition to being an ideal pairing for salads, Harvest Snaps Salad Toppers Green Pea Crisps are also fantastic sprinkled on soups, used to create a crunchy breading for baked dinner recipes, or for snacking straight out of the bag. The products will be available for retailers this summer. They're sold in 3-ounce re-sealable bags that are all part of the TerraCycle recycling program. GN In the Maple Stream, the syrup is forced out of the can by air pressure. The syrup streams rather than sprays, so it's not not atomized into a fine mist. Bascom Maple Farms Maple Stream offers the distinct advantage that it's not going to spill all over the table if it gets tipped. Mess-free and portion-controlled, the product helps consumers avoid sticky situations. During consumer testing for the new product, one of the things that the com- pany heard from parents was that they'd use real maple syrup themselves, but they didn't want to give it to their kids because they didn't want to take the risk that it would be spilled and wasted. This new packaging solves that problem. The Maple Stream doesn't require refrigeration because the syrup is sealed so that no air can get into it, so bacteria can't grow. "From the bulk containers to this package, it's a unique way of packing it," said Arnold Coombs, Director of Sales and Marketing for Bascom Maple Farms and a seventh generation sugarmaker. Since it doesn't need refrigeration, the Maple Stream can come warm to the table, so it doesn't cool down the flap- jacks or the French toast or the coffee or tea to which it's added. "We're spoiled up here in Vermont, and a lot of people put maple in their coffee or tea," Coombs said. "We have a local bartender who's experimenting with it for maple moji- tos – it's a lot easier just to squirt it in than to go to the refrigerator for a bottle. A lot of uses we hadn't thought of are now coming to light." GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN Bascom Maple Farms' Maple Stream is 100 percent pure USDA certified organic maple syrup, packaged in an eco-friendly can that doesn't need to be refrigerated, as other maple products do, so it's very convenient for a multitude of uses. Bas- com Maple Farms sources additional maple from small family farms in the U.S. – more than 3,000 of them – that share its commitment to quality, environment stewardship and sustainable forestry management. By purchasing their syrup, and bringing it to market, Bascom Maple Farms supports other small farmers and builds local, rural economies. A More Convenient Way to Maple Your Morning Beanfields Continued from PAGE 1 customers really liked about the Beanfields brand was that it offered bold flavor in an alternative to conventional tortilla chips. Ventura's first task at hand, then, follow- ing his arrival at the company from Califia Farms, where he headed up business devel- opment, was to figure out how the brand could grow without alienating those cus- tomers. "Only after 10 months here do I feel I have the full vision in place for the potential for this brand," Ventura said. "But when I think about everything with bean as the hero ingredient, I think of [Bean- fields] as potential to be a master brand with multiple legs or frontiers that it can expand out into." With its new funding in hand, Beanfields' first foray into growing relevance for its core consumers was with the development of five new flavors in 13 SKUs of its bean chips, in- cluding two flavors that had particular rele- vance to its vegan customers: Spicy Queso and Cheddar Sour Cream, both made with vegan recipes. "In that space, for vegans, there aren't that many vegan alternatives in the salty snack category," Ventura said. "We want to continue to provide those options, and we do that very well." Beanfields' consumers are embracing the changes at the brand. By the end of February of this year, Beanfields had racked up 12 consecutive months of year-over-year sales growth that included eight consecutive record-breaking sales weeks at the end of 2018. January 2019 brought the highest monthly sales in Beanfields' history with a number that represented triple-digit year- over-year growth – this as the company was also in a mad sprint to get ready for trade show season. As Ventura and the company turn that first mad sprint from the close of its fund- ing round into a marathon run, Beanfields will continue to focus on its appeal to the consumers shopping in the natural foods channel who are al- ready delivering that sales growth as well as others in the same stores who've given up on salty snacks be- cause they won't eat corn or potato chips and haven't yet found an alternative that of- fers them exciting fla- vors along with crunch. "We're giving them a reason to come back to the salty snack category," Ven- tura said. "The key to our success lies in zero compromise. At the end of the day, they really want a good-tast- ing chip, and if it happens to be better for them, good on us. We don't want it to be a good chip for a vegan chip or a good chip for a bean thing – we want it to be a good chip.... The addressable market is anyone who wants a good-tasting chip." As the brand matures in the natural foods space, Ventura is also looking ahead at a future in other retail channels as well as in other product categories, both inside and outside the snack foods space. "That's part of our longer-term inno- vation roadmap," Ven- tura said. "There's a big addressable market for us outside of snacks. As to when we choose to go there, there's a lot to think about between now and then." GN

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