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.
Van Leeuwen scoops into Hidden Valley Ranch
Ranch lovers can rejoice because their favorite condiment has made its way to dessert.
Premium ice cream brand Van Leeuwen debuted a new savory-sweet flavor in collaboration with the leading ranch brand, Clorox-owned Hidden Valley.
In a press release, the brand said the ice cream contains the dressing’s savory flavors of buttermilk and herbs with a touch of sweetness. To enhance the taste, Hidden Valley recommended topping the ice cream with crushed snacks, like potato chips or pretzels.
“We know that Hidden Valley Ranch goes with just about everything – pizza, carrots, French fries – but ice cream is a first for us,” Rachel Garrison, the brand’s associate director, said in a written statement.
The flavor is available for a limited time at 3,500 Walmart stores.
Ranch has grown significantly beyond its salad dressing roots. In 2019, Hidden Valley Ranch told AdAge its product is used as a condiment or dip for foods 70% of the time, and claimed that it had surpassed ketchup as the country’s favorite condiment. It is also widely used as a seasoning and cooking ingredient, and debuted a plant-based variety in 2021.
The flavor of the dressing has appeared in some surprising places before. Last year, popular hot sauce brand Truff launched Spicy Truffle Ranch, which sold out in minutes. In 2021, the brand debuted RanchNog, an eggnog beverage mix for the holidays.
Van Leeuwen has mined the world of savory foods for other creamy flavors. In 2021 it created ice cream with the flavor of Kraft Mac & Cheese. The unconventional flavor was so popular when it launched as an online exclusive that it made an appearance in Walmart freezers nationwide last summer.
The ranch collaboration is only one of Van Leeuwen’s Walmart-exclusive flavors debuting this spring — the line also includes Sweet Maple Cornbread, Blood Orange Poppy, Carrot Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Graham Cracker Crunch and Limoncello Cake.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of INDOxyz
The new best part of waking up: Snoop Dogg’s coffee shizzle in your bizzle
Snoop Dogg is putting a leash on a substance that he says has fueled him since the early days of his recording career: Coffee.
The hip-hop mogul, who has become a legendary businessman, is getting into coffee with the launch of his new brand INDOxyz.
The premium lifestyle brand, which is a joint venture between Snoop and coffee entrepreneur Michael Riady, features Indonesian beans grown by farmers in collectives on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi. The beans are carefully selected, then shipped to a master roaster in Los Angeles. INDOxyz sells both whole bean coffee for home brewing, and ready-to-drink cold brew.
The brand, which has distinctive yellow packaging and celebrates entrepreneurs and innovators in its branding, will first be sold in stores in California. It will next go to Las Vegas, and then roll out nationwide. Both the beans and cold brew will also be available at the company’s online store.
“Indo is going to change the industry, I can promise you that,” Snoop Dogg said in a release about the coffee brand.
Although he was first famous for his music, Snoop has become well known for his business acumen. From cannabis — to which he has been consistently linked throughout his career — to esports, Snoop has invested in and developed several diverse business lines.
Recently, he’s done quite a bit in the food industry. In 2020, he partnered with and invested in Outstanding Foods, the maker of PigOut plant-based pork rinds. He launched Indoggo gin, made with celebrity brand Trusted Spirits, that features seven premium botanicals. And he introduced a California wine blend to the 19 Crimes brand later that year.
Last August, he debuted Snoop Loopz, a colorful cereal touting “more marshmallows.” In January, Post Consumer Brands announced a partnership with Broadus Foods — the CPG company owned by Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, and rapper and businessman Master P — to produce and sell three cereal varieties under the Snoop Cereal brand starting this summer.
Premium coffee is a promising place for Snoop to make his next food venture. According to the National Coffee Association’s 2022 Fall Trends report, coffee is the nation’s most popular beverage. Two-thirds of consumers surveyed for the report said they had coffee the day before. Inflation and higher prices on everything from electricity to rent don’t impact the likelihood that consumers will buy coffee, though the study found that nearly six in 10 feel they are financially worse off than at the beginning of 2022.
Indonesian coffee is known for having a bold taste profile, and consumer reviews have been positive. Adding a more premium level to this coffee elevates it in consumers’ perspective.
But of course, having Snoop Dogg as an owner and spokesperson might do more for INDOxyz than the flavor and performance of the beans themselves. After all, he knows a thing or two about dropping a product that’s hot.
— Megan Poinski
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Courtesy of Kellogg
Kellogg gives a toast to Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts
Kellogg is finding a way to bring two of its popular offerings together at the breakfast table.
The Michigan-based cereal and snacking giant is debuting Apple Jacks Frosted Apple Cinnamon Flavor Pop-Tarts. The rectangular-shaped treat, decorated with white frosting and green and orange-sprinkles, balances the spice of cinnamon and the sweet apple flavor of the classic cereal.
“We know our fans love a brand mashup, so Pop-Tarts is continuing to provide new ways of enjoying the nostalgic flavors from our childhoods,” Heidi Ray, senior director of marketing for portable wholesome snacks at Kellogg, said in a statement. “This new flavor will bring families the best of both into one crazy good offering.”
The Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts are the latest launch by Kellogg to combine two brands within its portfolio. In 2021, the CPG company launched Eggo Frosted Maple Flavor Pop-Tarts.
While Kellogg is best known for cereals such as Froot Loops, Corn Flakes and the aforementioned Apple Jacks, it has been building up its presence in snacking in recent years. Pop-Tarts has been a key driver of that growth, with the product a $1 billion brand at retail.
“It’s a big business,” Chris Hood, who heads the CPG company’s North American business, told analysts last month. “It’s sustained growth through effective brand building behind its core range, innovation of new flavors and new food forms like Pop-Tart Bites.”
Kellogg has seen strong demand during the last two years in its snacks business, and Hood noted it’s “ripe for growth by leaning into … distinctive assets like Pop-Tarts.”
The Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts are a key driver for sustaining growth in the brand. It also will enable Kellogg to tap into two strong assets in its portfolio with a launch that will attract consumers interested in new and novel flavors.
— Christopher Doering