Legs of serrano ham, cheese wheels and Lord Alan Sugar (not an eponymous new food but the man himself), were joined by innovative and on-trend new products at this year’s Speciality & Fine Food Fair at London’s Olympia. While a few appear to be targeting a niche group of shoppers (anyone for gold water?), other brands have a broader consumer base in mind. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting.
Gut health
AliveBiome is taking aim at Britain’s growing army of gut health enthusiasts with new probiotic bottled waters. The range, currently being trialled in Sainsbury’s stores, is available in Raspberry and Citrus Fruit flavours, with each bottle including a ‘push to activate’ cap containing vitamins, natural flavourings and 10 billion live cultures. When pressed, the content of the cap is released into the water below, which should then be shaken and consumed within 24 hours.
Willy’s takes a different tact in drinkable probiotics with its Natural Energy Remedy Drink, containing kombucha, fresh apple juice and apple cider vinegar. A source of good bacteria, with no added sugar and only 26 calories per 250ml recyclable can, the naturally fermented SKU seems perfectly timed, its launch following the announcement last week of a proposed ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-18s.
For those preferring probiotics to pro, breakfast drinks brand Baotic’s range of baobab-flavoured on-the-go pouches featured at the show, comprising of Original, Orange, Banana and Strawberry variants available for retail from March this year. The free-from, vegan drinks provide a good source of fibre and vitamin C, with an RSP of £1.95 per 100g pouch.
Drink and snack pairings
Alcohol accompaniments were also in evidence. With Brits continuing to indulge in premium and craft beverages, a host of brands have set their sights on shoppers looking for an appropriately high-end snack to pair with their G&T or IPA.
The Drinks Bakery displayed its range of savoury drink biscuits, created from collaborations with various distillers and breweries to create the right flavour profiles. The all-natural 48g packets launched in December and retail at £1.95, including a Parmesan, Toasted Pine Nuts & Basil flavour to accompany prosecco, fruity wines and tropical beers and a Lancashire Cheese & Spring Onion matching dry wines, lager and stout.
Fellow accompaniment brand Barmies featured its newly redesigned packaging at the show, having received backing from The Seed Fund earlier this year. The brand’s range of baked beer snacks, comprising of Smoked Chipotle, Cheese & Sesame and Olive Tapenade, is created using surplus beer barm, a by-product of the fermentation process of beer brewing.
Vegetable crisps
Scottish farmer collective Growers Garden boasted food waste reduction credentials in its new line of broccoli crisps. Made from offcuts of broccoli harvested directly from its own farmers, the crisps are a world-first according to the brand, containing at least 27% broccoli per 22g bag. They’re also vegan and gluten-free.
Health and special diets
Vegan and free-from was undoubtedly a key focus of the show, with plant-based and gluten-free NPD in virtually every sector. But nowhere was this more apparent than puddings.
East Anglia-based luxury pudding brand Lilly Puds showcased its new vegan and gluten-free Christmas pudding, launched into Ocado last month (rsp: £12.49) and set to hit Harrods soon. Norty Puds was looking for wider distribution of its on-the-go vegan pots in lemon chia, banoffee and salted chocolate flavours, each containing no refined sugar, gluten or soya. Portobello Attic is another to watch, with a range of 12 dairy-free cheesecakes. Vegan and gluten-free options include peanut butter, Oreo and Nutella berry flavours.
Superfruits
‘Superfruit’ was also out in force, featuring as the star ingredients in a raft of juice and smoothie NPD. Among the trendier ‘superfruit’ boasters is Fiovana, which displayed its latest flavour, Plum, Apple and Rose Hip alongside its full range at the show. Available in Ocado, Harrods and Selfridges, the NPD joins the brand’s existing eight flavours, including Yuzu, Spanish Lemon & Lucuma and Lime, Mint & Baobab, each in its own bottle designed by an illustrator. The £2.99 bottles provides 10 drinks worth of cordial and use coconut nectar in place of refined sugars in response to Britain’s war on the white stuff.
Another to flaunt ‘superfruit’ credentials is Just Juice with its new range of organic juices, set to launch in the UK this month, with flavours ranging from the largely unknown sea buckthorn and chokeberry (slightly better known as aronia) to the more familiar acai and pomegranate.
Other noteables
As well those on-trend, there were brands innovating in the hope of inspiring entirely new consumer tastes. Among them were Birch Sap drinks from Belgian distributor Natur’Inov, containing sterilised sap taken directly from trees before being flavoured with fruit purée. The brand claims a bottle of Birch Sap a week can rid the body of toxins, serving as a quick and easy cleanse for the health-conscious. The range is set to launch in Planet Organic in September.
Scottish brand Weed & Wonderful is intent on making seaweed the new black with its new range of organic oils and supplements. Its products are already used in own-label SKUs including M&S Smoked Seaweed Mayonnaise, but Weed & Wonderful says a lack of awareness of its sustainable sourcing and nutritional benefits is holding it back. The brand hopes to rectify that with the slogan: ‘It’s not weird, it’s wonderful!’
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