NEW SKUs

Deli-Style Meats Undergo High-Pressure Treatment
Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., is bringing innovation to the luncheon meat category with its national launch of Hormel Natural Choice Deli Sandwich Meats. The all-natural products use no preservatives or added nitrates and nitrates. Instead, the meat processors uses high-pressure, water-based pasteurization—called True-Taste technology—that protects against harmful bacteria and extends product shelf life. The technology is a USDA–approved process that doesn’t compromise the meat’s taste, texture, appearance, or nutritional value. Some preservatives can alter the taste of deli meats.

The sliced luncheon meats are available in 9-oz packages with a suggested retail price of $3.89. The recyclable outer paperboard packaging features distinctive brown and green earth tones. Varieties include oven roasted deli turkey, smoked deli turkey, honey deli turkey, honey deli ham, cooked deli ham, and smoked deli ham.

A ‘Kinder & Gentler’ Coffee 
Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio, is launching a "stomach-friendly" coffee named Folgers Simply Smooth. This "kinder & gentler" coffee is the result of bean selection and modifications in the roasting process that are designed to limit the formation of compounds, such as certain phenols, that may be associated with stomach discomfort.

The company estimates that about 35–40 million American adults have decreased or eliminated coffee consumption because of stomach discomfort.

"New Folgers Simply Smooth provides consumers who have cut back due to stomach discomfort with a great-tasting stomach-friendly coffee, and gives them permission to enjoy a second cup," said Doug McGraw, Vice President of Global Coffee for P&G. The product is available in medium-roast regular and decaffeinated varieties at mass merchandisers, grocery, and drug stores nationwide. The regular variety comes in 11.5-oz and 34.5-oz AromaSeal canisters to help maintain freshness. Decaffeinated Simply Smooth comes only in the 11.5-oz canister.

Calorie-Controlled Spritzing
One-hundred-calorie packs have become trendy in the snack aisle. Seizing on the popularity of calorie control, Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is rolling out Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers salad dressing in a spray bottle. Each spray delivers one calorie of product. The vinaigrette-style dressings come in three flavors: Italian, Balsamic Breeze, and Red Wine Mist. The last variety blends cabernet sauvignon with red wine vinegar and oil.

"This is a true innovation in dressing salads," said Dana Emery, Marketing Director, Wish-Bone dressings. "The dressing is the final touch that makes a salad delicious. Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers dressings give salad lovers a new way to perfectly dress their salad with 1 calorie per spray." The dressings come in a 7-oz bottle with a suggested retail price of $2.89. A colorful, full-body sleeve label and a bright-green spray-style closure help the product stand out on the store shelf. Each 7-oz bottle dresses more salad than a typical 16-oz container, or about 26 salads in all.