NEW SKUs

Sandwich-ready Tuna Salad
Making a tuna salad sandwich just got a lot easier thanks to StarKist Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., which has rolled out StarKist Tuna Salad Sandwich-Ready. Ideal for one sandwich, the shelf-stable product comes in a 3-oz retortable pouch. Varieties include Chunk Light and Albacore. Chunk Light contains 100 calories, 13 g of protein, and 3.5 g of fat and carries a suggested retail price of $1.37–$1.69. Albacore contains 90 calories, 11 g of protein, and 2.5 g of fat and carries a suggested retail price of $1.77–$1.99. The product requires no mixing or draining; consumers tear open the pouch and place the product on bread, crackers, and wraps, or in salads.

Compostable Packaging for Snack Bags
Frito-Lay, Plano, Texas, part of PepsiCo, is gradually rolling out compostable packaging for its SunChips brand of multigrain snack chips. In April 2009, the snack marketer announced that the outer layer of packaging on 10.5-oz SunChips snacks bags will be made with a compostable, plant-based renewable material, polylactic acid (PLA ). By Earth Day 2010, the company plans to rollout a 100% compostable packagefor its SunChips snacks. The new package will feature three layers made from PLA and will fully decompose in about 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost pile or bin. NatureWorks LLC, Minnetonka, Minn., is supplying the PLA, which is trademarked under the Ingeo name.

“Packaging is clearly the most visible interaction consumers have with Frito-Lay’s brands,” said Jay Gehring, Vice President, Packaging R&D, Frito-Lay North America. “To make packaging that would interact differently in the environment, we had to change the composition of packaging and invent key technologies. Using plant-based renewable materials, we have a promising solution that will transform packaging and significantly impact the billions of snack food bags produced annually.” Once the 100% compostable bag is introduced, the company anticipates the switch will lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the production of the packaging and the elimination of petroleum-based packaging material. Antioxidants Go Mainstream

Antioxidants Go Mainstream Antioxidants Go Mainstream
When a company like Sunsweet Growers, Yuba City, Calif., introduces a product called Antioxidant Blend, you can rest assure that the term antioxidant is part of America’s main street parlance. The snack is a combination of dried cherries, plums, wild blueberries, and cranberries in a 5-oz stand-up, resealable pouch. Packed with vitamins and minerals, Antioxidant Blend contains four of the highest scoring, oxygen-free radical fighting fruits on the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC ) chart, as measured by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Brunswick Laboratories.

“Functional foods are an important part of a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and physical activity,” said Steve Harris, Vice President of Marketing. “Not only is Sunsweet’s Antioxidant Blend great for a quick, convenient, and healthy snack, these functional fruits can accent a tossed salad, enhance baked goods, or sweeten up any favorite recipe.” The product carries a suggested retail price of $3.99.