incorporating inclusions to give conventional applications a twist
Kansas City This summer, International Dairy Queen, Inc., located in Minneapolis, focused heavily on inclusions in their menu creation strategy. The restaurant chain’s Summer Treat Menu offers a number of items that take advantage of customers’ desire for novel tastes and sensations. These are the trends driving the use of inclusions and giving many brands their unique selling characteristics.
Blizzard shakes with chunks of toffee, Oreo cookies, brownie dough, chocolates with marshmallows inside, candy sprinkles, and cheesecake, along with raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries on individual products are part of Dairy Queen’s summer menu. Cake Shakes and Dairy Queen Cupfection Sundaes also have inclusions.
“Our new Summer Treat Menu will take fans on a flavor adventure — no sunscreen or life vests required,” stated Maria Hokanson, senior vice-president of marketing at Dairy Queen. “From cups to cones and creamy to crunchy.”
Dunkin’ Brands Group and Burger King, a division of food Brands International, are among the other food chains that have added menu items with inclusions. Burger King started serving a vanilla shake topped with Twix candy bar chunks in May. The Kit Kat Coolatta frozen beverage from Dunkin’ featured chunks of Kit Kat confectionery bars. The Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Crème Donut, a square-shaped donut stuffed with vanilla-flavored buttercream and topped with Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Crème crumbles, was also introduced by Dunkin.
Not just decadent goods are included. Seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables are being added by product developers to a range of applications. It is a practical method of giving a product a boost of nutrition while maintaining a clear label or a natural perception within a product category.
Oatmeal pieces are layered on wafers and other ingredients in General Mills’ Nature Valley Crispy Creamy Wafer Bars. Granola bits are a component of the Jif Stacked Power Ups recipe from the J.M. Smucker Co.
These menu and product innovations are driven by trends that emphasize providing customers with novel experiences using well-known ingredients and incorporating distinctive textures into conventional product formats. At the annual Sweets & Snacks Expo, which took place in Chicago this past May, an educational session revealed that consumers are becoming aware of new goods that have unique colors, popping sweets, hot and spicy alternatives, cooling effects, and interactive, personalized packaging.
The phrase “sensorial snacking” originated from the agreement of nearly 60% of consumers under 44 that “it is important to spend money on experiences,” according to Jared Koerten, head of packaged food at Euromonitor International.
“Color really, really matters in an Instagram world where I’m taking a picture of everything on my smartphone before I eat it,” Mr. Koerten stated in a presentation at the Sweets & Snacks Expo. “One element is visual.” But it’s not only visual. It’s the texture. The mouthfeel is it. It’s the notion that I want something that is simultaneously crunchy, creamy, sweet, and possibly a bit salty.
According to Melissa Sunseri, senior manager of marketing for food service national accounts at Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark., products that appeal to younger consumers are classics with a twist. In her June presentation at the annual meeting and food expo of the Institute of Food Technologists, Ms. Sunseri used the Oreo brand from Mondelez International Inc. as an illustration. The Oreo cookie has made an appearance on menus and store shelves in the form of pie crusts, ice cream cones, chocolate bars, donuts, and drinks. It has been offered in bites and thins, and as of late, a wide range of limited-edition tastes are available.”The idea is to elevate that daily task to a higher level,” she remarked. “(Gen Z customers) think they are exceptions to the rules. however, they desireto defy the law in one instance—is it color? Does it have texture? Is that spice? Is it too sugary?
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Innovation in inclusion is abundant.
The New Berlin, Wisconsin-based Denali components said that it is growing its capacity to produce culinary components. The business revealed plans to build a 98,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in New Berlin, where it will create a new range of baked inclusions, such as cheesecake and brownie pieces for use in ice cream and other sweet treats.The company claims that the expansion will improve the flow of production for its present line of extruded doughs, bits, flakes, and bark products and increase its manufacturing space.
“We can now offer a wider range of products to our customers with the addition of baked inclusions,” stated Neal Glaeser, president of Denali Ingredients.The building will double its capacity for frozen storage, giving enough room for growing its product line. It also has separate production areas, contemporary sanitation tools and procedures, and a quality controllab outfitted with modern testing apparatus. The facility has upgraded its environmental effect in a number of ways, such as with LED lighting, highly efficient boilers, water heaters, air handling systems, and recycling initiatives.
Three years ago, Denali Ingredients established a small-scale pilot facility for product testing together with a research and development center.
Mr. Glaeser stated, “This portfolio expansion and our focus on direct customer collaboration give our R&D team a wider platform to effectively address trends in today’s complex food environment.”
Earlier this year, Fort Worth, Texas-based Parker Products introduced their collection of popular ice cream flavors. This year’s list of flavors included Get Churr-Own, which is sweet cream ice cream blended with churro pieces and mixed with cinnamon cream cheese icing; It Takes Two To Mango, which is mango sorbet pops topped with spicy, sweet, and salty Chamoy sprinkles; and Million Reasons Why, which is brown butter ice cream blended with cinnamon streusel crumble.
With its inclusions, Glanbia Nutritionals, a commercial subsidiary of Glanbia P.L.C., of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, is giving a healthy dose. The company’s Crunchie Milk Protein Crisps were just released. The additions used in bars and snacks are formed of milk protein, which gives the product a protein boost. The company claims that the ingredient can be customized to fit multiple sizes and is intended to open up new possibilities for trail mixes, nutrition bars, confections, and novel snack forms.
With Watson, Inc.’s acquisition earlier in the year, Glanbia improved its inclusion offerings. Watson sells edible glitter in addition to things like flavors, pre-mixes, and protein. The item can be added to a variety of applications as a topping or inclusion to offer more flavor and color.