Lifeline Food Co., Seaside, Calif., introduces Lifetime Body Smart for Women. This pasteurized process cheese product is specifically formulated for the daily health and diet needs of women. Available in three varieties—Jalapeño Jack, Sharp Cheddar and Swiss—a 1-oz single-serving contains 47 calories and only 1.7g fat. In addition, the cheese is fortified with calcium, folic acid and magnesium, with a serving providing 35% of the Daily Value of calcium and 10% of the Daily Value of folic acid and magnesium. These three nutrients are recognized as being very important to female health and wellness.

Lifetime Body Smart for Women is a participant in the Good Deed Foundation. A portion of the proceeds from every sale of the cheese is donated to this organization that donates 100% of its profits after taxes to community organizations that benefit women, children and the environment.



Alouette Reserve, the new premium cheese line made especially for today’s sophisticated palate, combines a unique blend of cow and goat milk to create a new category of super-premium cheeses that appeal to today’s more adventurous consumers.

Joining the mild, familiar taste of cow milk with the tangy and fresh flavor of goat milk, Alouette Reserve brings distinctive and exciting gourmet flavors to the kitchen with a line of four popular cheese varieties: Alouette Reserve Original Spreadable, Alouette Reserve Vidalia Onion Spreadable, Alouette Reserve Havarti and Alouette Reserve Baby Brie.

“We’re excited to be the first to launch this unique blend, which creates a whole new category in premium specialty cheeses,” says Christine Wiker, BC-USA Inc., New Holland, Pa. “We’ve seen the popularity of goat cheese increase by 52% in the past five years and we know that consumer tastes have become more adventurous. Continuing the Alouette standards for exceptional quality and flavor, Alouette Reserve brings consumers an expanded selection of elegant cheeses. Much like a fine wine, Alouette Reserve will appeal to consumers seeking rich, new tastes with flavor and flair.” Formed in 1990, BC-USA is a subsidiary of Bongrain S.A., which is based in Viroflay, France.

New Green & Black’s Organic Ice Cream comes in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla and White Chocolate with Raspberry. Green & Black’s USA Inc., Plano, Texas, is best known for its organic chocolate confections. Now the company takes its sweet tooth to the freezer. Sold in pints, these indulgent desserts range from 180 to 230 calories per half-cup serving.



Blue Bunny is bringing the gelatoria experience to the ice cream aisle with its newest creation, Blue Bunny Gelato. “Gelato is a different experience than ice cream,” says Adam Baumgartner, senior marketing manager-retail brand development, Wells’ Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa. “It is denser and has a more intense flavor than traditional ice cream and has a fantastic visual appeal. Consumers have told us they want to have gelato in addition to ice cream in their freezers because they satisfy different cravings and needs.”

Blue Bunny Gelato is packaged in clear, 8-oz containers. The transparent packaging allows consumers to see the indulgent top dressings, which are a key part of the gelato experience. Blue Bunny Gelato is available nationwide in four flavors: Chocolate, Espresso, Hazelnut, and Pistachio.



Santa Barbara Bay, Buellton, Calif., introduces an all-natural, preservative-free alternative to its original Spinach Dip, one of the brand’s most popular flavors among consumers. A unique blend of all-natural, real dairy sour cream, fresh spinach and crunchy water chestnuts, All-Natural Spinach Dip offers big taste and texture without additives or preservatives. The new All-Natural Spinach Dip debuted in May at Costco club stores in 32-oz tubs with a retail price of $5.99.

The company also started producing private label “The Deli Counter” for Safeway stores. These dips come in French Onion and Buttermilk Ranch varieties and are merchandised in deli departments of Safeway stores nationwide.



Dairy Foods now offers Dairy Product Innovations, (www.dairyfoods.com/dpi) an e-newsletter focused on new dairy products and new products and services from dairy industry suppliers. Subscribers receive Dairy Product Innovations monthly with the occasional special installation or themed issue focusing on specific niches like artisan cheese or organic and natural foods. To subscribe, visit www.dairyfoods.com.

Noteworthy Introductions

Fiscalini Cheese Co., Modesto, Calif., launches a savory Scotch Ale Cheddar dubbed Hopscotch. The label shows one of California’s happiest Holsteins dressed as a bagpiper in Heather Fiscalini’s Kerr family tartan.

Brigham’s Ice Cream, Boston, marks the country’s longest running news-magazine program a limited-edition, commemorative flavor. Chronicle, which airs throughout New England on ABC, is celebrating its 25th anniversary primetime and is being honored with an ice cream flavor and name created especially for the occasion, Chronicle Coffee Crunch.

New Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake is available from Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp. Wilbraham, Mass.  It’s made with two layers of Friendly’s premium peanut butter ice cream separated with chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, then covered with deep, dark chocolate truffle and bordered with whipped icing.

International

It is always fascinating to see how major, mainstream brands in the U.S. market change their product offerings for sale in other countries. That’s what we see with this product from Häagen-Dazs. This particular impulse ice cream product is sold in France, and is quite different from most of what we see in the States. The company has taken its caramel ice cream, swirled it with more caramel and then sandwiched it between two thin, crisp wafers.

Hold the sticks and the plastic tubs. Other countries often take a more creative approach to presenting butter to their consumers. In Brazil, Lactalis sells a variety of its President butters in an upside-down tub. The butter, made with sea salt, comes in a fairly small container (250ml), and is designed to be opened so that the “lid” of the tub functions as the serving container for the butter.

Innovative packaging is a strong theme this month, with dairies using new, unique ways to present tried-and-true products. In France, La Fermiére offers a yogurt with a fruit topping. That, in itself, is not news, but what is news is how the package functions. The package shape is somewhat like a mountain peak, with the fruit layer at the top of the summit. Instead of eating this yogurt out of the package, as is the usual case with spoonable yogurts, consumers turn out the yogurt into a plate. When plated, the fruit topping flows down the sides of the yogurt, making for a very attractive presentation.



Contributed by Lynn Dornblaser, director, Global New Products Database (GNPD) Consulting Services, a division of Mintel International, a global research company. For more information call 312/932-0400, or visit www.gnpd.com.