• 🎯 Can A New Toaster Pastry Disrupt Pop-Tarts?
• 🛒 Biden Barks Back At Grocery Inflation
• 🪴 Rogen’s New Brew
• 🔀 Kroger CFO Steps Down, Heads to Costco

The unofficial snackiest day of the year (Superbowl Sunday) is this weekend but for SNAC International (formerly the Snack Food Association), snacks are top-of-mind all year long.

Nosh spoke with SNAC recently about the regulatory and legislative moves it is watching as well as upcoming trends, shifts in consumer demand and what's next in snack innovation in 2024.

🔍 Regulatory Watch List: Sodium reduction has long been a priority and an April ruling is expected from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) on voluntary sodium reduction targets which will likely call for a 10% to 21% decrease in sodium levels.

Along with awaiting an FDA ruling on front-of-pack (FOP) labeling, SNAC has made recommendations for the agency’s incoming ruling on “healthy” nutrient content claims – expected by the middle of the year. SNAC is also monitoring legislation around “ultra-processed” foods and how it pertains to the category’s role in on-the-go nutrition.

📈 Now trending in snacks… Innovative ingredients – such as maca, super-greens, collagen, and nootropics like L-theanine and caffeine – that support specific functions, such as digestive health, mood support, sleep and performance management.

An increasing number of products will be marketed to discrete needs. For example, snack bars made with cashews to alleviate muscle soreness, and protein bars containing ashwagandha for immune and brain health benefits. Allergen-friendly snacks are also expected to continue growing, as 32 million Americans now have food allergies.

🆕 Whitespace and Avenues for Innovation: Crossovers and partnerships are becoming more common. Flavor innovation within “Hot” has diversified in application with added nuance, like the use of new pepper varieties or hot ingredients paired with cheese and citrus. 

The globalization of flavors has become uniquely important, as consumers are eating out less, snack producers have the opportunity to deliver more “foodie” experiences at home. Snack producers are incorporating new ingredients into formats that consumers already know and love (like chia and flax seeds in tortilla chips or tapioca starch into puffs).

Want more to chew on? Check out the full interview on Nosh. 

Givaudan explores four elements that offer a glimpse of how food and flavors shape multi-sensory experiences within the consumer lifestyle through DELIGHT. We start with Well & Great, as self-care is the ultimate luxury. Learn more

Premium toaster pastry brand Flings is making its retail debut at more than 500 Target stores nationwide. Founders Dino Vassiliou and Benjamin Outmezguine created the products as a modern twist on Pop-Tarts, which generated $994 million in U.S. sales last year. 

🍓 But these gluten-free, low-sugar, high-protein alt-Pop-Tarts cost $8.99 per 4-count box. That's a steep price jump for consumers used to paying about half that for the traditional treats. 

🧐 The 60-year-old Pop-Tarts brand owns 88% of the market, according to Circana. Its closest competitors – Bobo’s, Legendary Foods and Nature’s Path – claim less than a percentage point of dollar share. That leaves plenty of space for Flings to fill in.

💪 Flings boast 1 gram of sugar and 10 grams of protein, versus Pop-Tarts’ 22 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein. But will Target shoppers bite or balk at the premium price tag? 

Read about the Montreal startup’s plans to support its retail debut on Nosh.

President Biden is expected to begin ramping up pressure on grocery store chains to lower prices as Americans’ economic outlook is, currently, heavily influenced by inflationary pressures felt at checkout.

📣 During a campaign event in South Carolina last week, the president called out corporations for continuing to rip off Americans with “price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, [and] shrinkflation.” 

🍬 “You see that article about the Snickers bars? Well, it’s going to stop. Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers. And that’s why we’re going to… keep on them and get the prices down,” Biden stated. 

🛋️ The stance comes as inflation has moderated in big ticket categories like furniture or electronics; while grocery price increases have slowed, grocery chains have continued to enjoy higher margins, instead of passing savings onto consumers. 

🥛 Most are still regularly feeling the effect of heightened food costs due to the frequency at which consumers buy milk and eggs compared to a new iPhone or sofa. 

It feels like only last week that Robert Downey, Jr. was the latest Hollywood star to enter the packaged coffee game, but things move quickly in the world of celebrity CPG. This week, Seth Rogen is looking to grab a piece of your morning cup with the launch of Houseplant Coffee, produced in collaboration with frozen coffee platform Cometeer.

😀 To answer your first question: no, this coffee won’t get you high.

🧊 Houseplant Coffee’s two inaugural roasts -- Bean There Done That, an Ethiopian medium roast blend, and Get Roasted, a Mexican dark roast -- are aimed at the premium at-home coffee market that Massachusetts-based Cometeer has cultivated for its unique frozen coffee puck format. Both are available to Cometeer subscribers (plans start at $64 per month) as part of the Houseplant Roaster Box, or for the one-time purchase price of $84.

💬 "From where we sit, coffee and cannabis are the perfect pair,” said Evan Goldberg, Rogen’s frequent creative partner, and a co-founder of Houseplant along with the actor and Michael Mohr.

🍫 That relationship has proven fertile ground for a handful of CPG players: see THC-infused coffees The Drinkable Company, or ‘luxury cannabis’ brand Binske’s collaboration with Intelligentsia Coffee on a THC-infused espresso chocolate bar. 

Read more on Nosh.

The Kroger Co. announced today that Gary Millerchip is stepping down as SVP and CFO to assume the role of CFO at Costco. Todd Foley, group VP, has been appointed interim CFO at Kroger, effective immediately.

⏪ Millerchip joined Kroger back in 2008 as CEO of Kroger Personal Finance before being appointed SVP and CFO in April 2019. At Costco, he will succeed longtime finance chief Richard Galanti, who has held the position for nearly 30 years.

⏩ According to a report by Reuters, Galanti will remain with Costco through January 2025 in an advisory role, assisting Millerchip through the transition period. 

💭 “I am proud of all we have accomplished at Kroger and have made the decision to transition to a new chapter in my career. Kroger is well positioned for the future, and I wish the team continued success,” said Millerchip in a statement.