Rollout: October's most interesting new food products

Kyres also is passionate about combating childhood obesity. “Everyone talks about obesity, but we’ve done something about it by tripling consumption of fruits in Canada in the past two years,” he says. “Customers use our fruit in their cereals, smoothies and yogurt. We even increased the consumption of milk in Canada by incorporating our fruit for healthy milkshakes. The fruit is naturally sweet, so kids really love it.” He adds, “Our mission in the U.S. is to encourage children to eat fruit everyday and to make it fun for them. Kids can create different colored drinks -- purple by using 4-Field Berry Mix or pink colors with Select Raspberries. The 21-oz. bag (larger than what is presently available in the U.S.) is a perfect size for one-week’s fruit consumption for a family of four.”

Suggested retail price is $2.99 to $3.99.


Anheuser Busch goes full Tilt

Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis, has been on a new product rollout and its latest entry is Tilt, an innovative malt beverage featuring an assorted blend of caffeine, guarana and ginseng and packaged in sleek, individual 16-oz. silver cans containing 6.6, 6 or 4 percent alcohol by volume based on state laws.

Tilt is brewed with two-row malt, natural grains, hops, yeast and water and is infused with raspberry flavor, caffeine, guarana and ginseng at Anheuser-Busch's Cartersville, Ga., brewery. It’s fermented at cold temperatures and allowed to develop natural carbonation as it slowly matures.

"From happy hour to a night out at a club, contemporary adults are looking for innovative beverages that fit into their fast-paced, highly social lifestyles," says Pat McGauley, vice president, innovation/new products. "Tilt was developed with this in mind because it is suited to a variety of drinking occasions."

Suggested retail price is competitive with similar products.


Healthy chillin’

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. introduces in select markets Quaker Milk Chillers, a line of noncarbonated flavored milk beverages, a growing category estimated at $2.5 billion this past year, which targets teenagers and young adults.

Packaged in 14-oz, single-serve plastic, Quaker Milk Chillers are made with 2 percent reduced-fat milk and fortified with calcium and seven essential vitamins. Flavors include Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla. They are sweetened with a blend of natural and no-calorie sweeteners including sucrose, sucralose (Splenda), and acesulfame potassium. They have a similar nutritional profile to plain 2 percent reduced fat milk and qualify for PepsiCo's "smart spot" symbol because they contain 45-50 percent less sugar than the leading flavored milks and are an excellent source of calcium.

Produced using leading-edge aseptic technology, Quaker Milk Chillers have a six-month shelf life, which is significantly longer than most flavored milks and plain milk products (which can range from two weeks to three months).

“Many people want the health benefits of milk but they don't like the taste of plain milk,” says Chad Dick, director of marketing innovation, Pepsi-Cola North America. “Quaker Milk Chillers enable them to get many of milk's nutrients in the form of a great-tasting beverage without all of the calories and sugar found in most flavored milks. So when it's time for a snack, we hope people will reach for Quaker Milk Chillers rather than a cookie or a candy bar."

Suggested retail price is $1.49-$1.59.