Bars and butters from coffee beans; Popcorn goes cheesy and spicy; Jellybean-flavored sparkling water

Popcorn goes cheesy, spicy

Frito-Lay recently brought the taste of Cheetos brand seasoning to one of America’s favorite snacks, namely popcorn. Available in two flavors—Cheddar and Flamin’ Hot—Cheetos Popcorn creates a new snacking experience by pairing the classic taste of popcorn with an added boost of cheesy, spicy fun.

“We’ve seen the way Cheetos lovers don their red- and orange-dusted fingers like a badge of honor, and we’re always looking for ways to help them step up their snacking game,” said Brandi Ray, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, in a press release. “The only way to truly take popcorn to the next level is to add the iconic Cheetle, the cheesy dust that will entice Cheetos fans to snack on this popcorn all year long.”

Cheetos Popcorn is available at retailers nationwide in 7-ounce Cheddar bags and 6.5-ounce Flamin’ Hot bags for a suggested retail price of $3.99, and 2-ounce bags for a suggested retail price of $1.89.

Jellybean-flavored sparkling water

Joffer Beverage Company has brought the iconic flavors of Jelly Belly jellybean candies to a fun new format—boldly flavored sparkling water. Available in eight varieties, the fizzy refreshment contains only two ingredients: carbonated water and natural flavors.

Jelly Belly Candy Company is a seventh-generation family business, and the inspiration for Jelly Belly Sparkling Water came at a family gathering. “We were on the back patio, drinking a couple of the more popular sparkling water brands, when I said out loud, ‘If only someone could nail a sparkling water with really standout flavors,’” recalled company cofounder Stephen Joffer, in a press release. “The lightbulb came on when my dad suggested, ‘Why not our own Jelly Belly flavors? We are known for flavor innovation after all.’” From there, five family members banded together to start Joffer Beverage Company.

Jelly Belly Sparkling Water comes in French Vanilla, Lemon Lime, Orange Sherbet, Piña Colada, Pink Grapefruit, Tangerine, Very Cherry, and Watermelon, and can be found at Hy-Vee stores and online for a suggested retail price of $4.99–$5.99 for a carton of eight 12-ounce cans.

Bars and butters from coffee beans

The Whole Coffee Company, which uses 100% of the coffee bean to make an array of edible coffee products, recently debuted its line of whole-bean caffeine bars and butters under the brand name nudge. The products, which include brazilian, colombian, ethiopian, and italian roast coffee bars, and brazilian, colombian, and italian roast coffee butters, provide sustained performance with zero waste.

Among the benefits the coffee bars offer over their chocolate counterparts are fewer calories, no added sugar, and no GMOs. The bars are also free of nuts, soy, and gluten, and contain no artificial ingredients.

The coffee butters were recently tested with consumers, who compared them with a hazelnut spread. “I saw firsthand the response to a group of test consumers who were loyal to the leading hazelnut product,” said CEO David Burke, in a press release. “All of them—100%—in a blind test preferred the incredible taste experience of our no-nut, no-chocolate, 100% whole bean nudge coffee spread.”

nudge coffee bars and coffee butters can be found online at eatnudge.com for a suggested retail price of $3.49 for the bars and $4.49 for the butters.