Monthly round up of new products: November

30-Nov-2021 - Last updated on 30-Nov-2021 at 11:55 GMT

Halo Top has brought back one of its seasonal ice creams. Pic: Halo Top

It’s time for the monthly look at what’s new in dairy and dairy alternatives.

If you have products to let the world know about, please send us the details along with relevant photos.

Pols ice cream bites

European ice cream and dairy production and distribution group Food Union has announced an innovation for its legacy ice cream brand Pols – Pols ‘Snow Peaks’ – a box of 15 cocoa-glazed ice cream bites in the form of snow peaks.

“This is about blurring lines of product categories and driving the innovation cycle with creativity,” said Sandra Usacheva, Food Union ice cream brand manager.

“Food Union’s group of brands look to its connection with consumers to deliver highly unique ice cream experiences and creating a frozen confectionery that is the next level of innovation.”

The new product was a creation of Food Union’s Riga based Ice Cream Competence Centre, where its R&D team develops and tests ice cream recipes for both the Latvian and export markets.

The Pols ‘Snow Peaks’ ice cream bites are served in an environmentally friendly biodegradable cardboard box, which, when released into the environment, breaks down completely without residue.

The new ice cream bites are available via the Food Union online store in Latvia, as well as stores throughout Latvia and Lithuania.

Ekselence adds new flavors

Another Food Union brand, Ekselence, has also created a new range of ice-creams in Latvia.

The range has three flavors in 0.5 liter cardboard tubs: Ekselence Pumpkin Spice Latté, which is a spicy ice cream with a taste of coffee latté and pumpkin spice sauce; Ekselence Peanut Butter Crunch, which features ice cream with caramel sauce and peanuts; and Ekselence Vanilla & Chocolate with Cookie Dough, with chunks of cookie dough in vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

There are also three flavors in 1 liter packaging: Ekselence Milk souffle; Ekselence Banana & Chocolate; and Ekselence Vanilla & Chocolate cookies.

Triballat Noyal launches first plant-based drinks mixed with cow milk

French family business Triballat Noyal has launching a new brand of drinks called Pâquerette & Compagnie, which combines cow milk with plant-based ingredients.

Triballat Noyal will introduce three new drinks under the Pâquerette brand. The new drinks are made from 50% cow’s milk, collected from Brittany, and 50% plant-based ingredients: oat, almond and hazelnut.

Noëmie Buffet, product & category manager at Triballat Noyal, said, “Being experts in both dairy and plant-based products, this new 50/50 mix offers our consumers a great tasting yet healthy drink. SIG’s combiblocMidi carton pack has already been well received by our Sojasun and Sojade consumers and is also the perfect packaging solution for our new Pâquerette brand. This responsible, convenient and visually appealing packaging enables us to stand out in retail and offer the very best in sustainability for our consumers.”

New from Violife

Vegan dairy alternative brand Violife has been busy in November.

In the UK it launched its Le Rond Camembert Flavour.

Bianca Harris, senior marketing manager at Violife, said, “At Violife, we’re proud to offer customers new flavours to be enjoyed with loved ones. As Le Rond can be cooked in whatever way people please - from being baked to fried, customers can get creative with their dishes and still be 100% confident that it is suitable for all. Having recently ventured into plant-based butter and cream, we’re committed to continue innovating the Dairy Alternatives category, and new flavours like the Le Rond Camembert prove our mission to provide customers with 100% vegan alternatives that can be enjoyed by everyone.”

Le Rond Camembert Flavour Block can be purchased from Waitrose stores nationwide (£3.00 RSP).

Another launch was its first vegan alternative to dairy cream: Viocreme.

The launch of Viocreme sees Violife further expand its dairy alternative portfolio with its first vegan alternative to cream product. The latest innovation from Violife joins the recently launched Vioblock, the brand’s first butter alternative product, and Viospread.

Viocreme is made from seven ingredients: a blend of coconut and rapeseed oils, lentil protein, natural flavor, maize starch, beet sugar and rock salt.

Harris said, “At Violife we’re committed to continue innovating the Dairy Alternatives category and are thrilled to see our first cream alternative, Viocreme, hit the shelves. 100% vegan, Viocreme can be enjoyed by everyone and, as it largely emulates the properties of dairy cream, it is truly versatile. Joining Vioblock and Viospread, we’re excited to now offer a fuller dairy alternative range, beyond cheese alternatives, to flexitarians, vegans or vegetarians searching for plant-based dairy products that taste and act like the real thing.”

Viocreme is available from ASDA stores nationwide (£1.50 RSP).

Also added to its portfolio were Tex Mex Flavour Grated and new round Mozzarella Flavour Slices.

Tex Mex Flavour Grated and Mozzarella Flavour Slices can be purchased from Waitrose stores nationwide (both £2.65 RSP).

Marmite teams up with Ilchester to launch Marmite Cheddar Cheese Wedge

UK cheese company Ilchester has joined forces with Marmite to create the Ilchester Marmite Cheddar Cheese 180g Wedge, which is available in 224 Waitrose stores across the UK, with an RRP of £2.15.

"A slice of cheese with a scraping of Marmite on toast; cheese and Marmite sandwiches; toasties; cheese and Marmite muffins… the list of cheese and Marmite combinations is endless, but a cheddar cheese wedge WITH Marmite has never been done before, and with consumer demand strong for such a product, we thought that now more than ever was the time to create this tasty combination," said Dorota Dziedzic, assistant brand manager for Ilchester.

Dziedzic said with more people still working from home, savory snack options are popular, and the cheese toastie was named earlier this year as the most popular snack during lockdown.

“Also, our Ilchester Marmite Cheese Bites are in the top five of popular adult snacking nets, with an 8.3% growth in sales in the latest 52 weeks.”

Jo Gunn, senior licensing manager from Unilever, the makers of Marmite, said, "Our research has shown that over the years, Marmite and cheddar cheese as a sandwich or on toast have been a very popular savory snack option.”

Enlightened goes North

Enlightened, the New York-based dessert brand, has expanded its retail presence in Canada with two new product lines inspired by the best-selling cheesecakes and ice cream bars in the US. Made with no added sugar, Enlightened’s new keto-friendly products are available now at Loblaws Supermarket and Sobeys.

The launch includes five chocolate-dipped ice cream bars: Caramel Dark Chocolate Peanut; Double Chocolate; Mint Chocolate; Peanut Butter Chocolate; and Vanilla Dark Chocolate Almond.

It also features classic or strawberry flavored mini cheesecakes.

Earlier this year, Enlightened rolled out its first exclusively Canadian keto-friendly pints made with 0g sugar and expanded into Costco Canada with keto-friendly ice cream bars. Enlightened is made using natural sweeteners - erythritol, monk fruit, and xylitol.

Enlightened is available across Canada in stores like Costco, 7-Eleven, Metro, Food Land, Whole Foods and more.

NotCo debuts NotMilk Chocolate

NotCo, the US food tech company that creates plant-based options it says taste, feel, cook, and function just like their animal-based counterparts, has launched NotMilk Chocolate.

NotMilk Chocolate is available now in 64 oz. cartons through Fresh Direct and through Amazon in an on-the-go 8 oz. format.

NotMilk Chocolate is made with a combination of 100% plant-based ingredients such as peas, pineapple, cabbage, and cocoa.

“Chocolate milk is a classic, but there aren’t any options – whether animal- or plant-based – where chocolate is the star and the real, creamy, indulgent taste we should expect from chocolate shines through,” said CEO and founder of NotCo, Matias Muchnick.

Like all other NotCo foods, NotMilk Chocolate was created by the brand’s patented A.I. technology, Giuseppe, which creates plant-based products.

The brand has operations in the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

NotMilk is available at Whole Foods Market nationally, Stop & Shop, Harris Teeter’s, Sprouts, Wegmans, D’Agostino’s, Kings/Balducci’s, Harmons, New Seasons, Earth Fare, Bristol Farms, Rouses, Weis, Gelson’s Markets and more, in addition to the uptrend Imperfect Foods and vegan ecommerce site Vejii.