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Frozen Snacks

held items to its lineup and will launch hempbased dairy products in the second half of 2023.

Category data from Battle Creek, Mich.based Kellogg Co. indicates that the plantbased space is up nearly 2% as of July 2022. “Data shows us that mainstream people — led by Millennials and Gen Z — are eating plant-forward foods for many reasons, including taste, health, sustainability and more choice on menus,” said a representative of Kellogg’s MorningStar Farms brand.

Meatless chicken, according to MorningStar Farms, is seeing tremendous growth. The popularity of chicken among consumers makes it an easy entry point for flexitarians to enter the category. MorningStar has made it a priority to develop “chik’n” products that stand up to consumer expectations of taste. The brand’s line of meat-alternative products includes Chik’n Nuggets, Mickey Mouse Shaped Chik’n Nuggets and Chik’n Tenders, and MorningStar has recently added a Spicy Chik’n Filet, Plant-Based Chik’n and an Eggo Style Waffle Sandwich to the lineup.

With more segments of the population gravitating toward plantbased options, these snacks have earned a spot in the frozen aisle, but IRI’s Wyatt cautions retailers not to benchmark them against products with greater mass appeal.

“Plant-based products have a role in the category and are very popular with Millennials and Gen Z,” she says. “They are not, however, popular with the mass population, so retailers have to be smart and set expectations accordingly.”

Variety Drives Sweet Frozen Treats

If flavors and cuisines are driving snacks, variety and value are fueling the sweet frozen treat segment. Dollar sales of frozen novelties were up nearly 12% for the same time period noted above, according to IRI. “Frozen novelties is a category where you can maximize the value and minimize waste,” says Wyatt. “You can have a variety of flavors to appeal to a variety of people in your family.”

Wyatt adds that in this category, shoppers are also gravitating toward restaurant-quality products that they can consume at home. While these products may be priced at a premium, they provide a restaurant-style experience without the expense of eating at a restaurant.

After Pennsauken Township, N.J.-based J&J Snack Foods acquired Dippin’ Dots earlier this year, the company introduced a new mash-up product, Icee Cherry ‘n Blue Razz flavored frozen beads. J&J President and CEO Dan Fachner notes that the item is “the result of combining our expertise in frozen novelties to create new, exciting products for customers and fans to enjoy.”

Meanwhile, Unilever ice cream has launched 19 new products across its Breyers, Klondike, Magnum ice cream, and Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto brands. The multinational company’s ice cream brands had double-digit sales growth last year, according to Bentley King, head of U.S. ice cream operations at Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Unilever USA. “A portion of this success can be credited to Magnum, a brand renowned for its indulgent offerings, which delivered positive volume growth this year, largely due to the introduction of new offerings like Duets, which combine two types of chocolate in one decadent bite,” says King.

The company’s Talenti brand worked with chefs, mixologists and culinary creators to produce a lineup of pairings that borrowed trends from popular desserts and cocktails. “This mashup dessert experience is a quality Millennial and Gen Z consumers seek when it comes to desserts,” notes King.

Magnum also extended into a wider variety of plantbased offerings in response to more consumers’ exploration of or adherence to a nondairy lifestyle. It’s just one of many new plant-based sweet frozen snack products that offer consumers a variety of choices.

For its part, U.K. company Wicked Kitchen, whose U.S. headquarters is in Minneapolis, has launched a plant-based collection of ice creams and novelties made with the lupini bean — a first-to-market product line in the United States. The chef-crafted pints and handheld stick and cone novelties are currently available at Kroger, Dillons, Fred Meyer, King Soopers and a number of other chains.

Further, Montpelier, Vt.-based Wildgood, a first-of-itskind plant-based frozen dessert made with extra-virgin olive oil, recently added a Caramelized Fig flavor to its brand. Wildgood is currently carried by Sprouts, Publix, ShopRite and select Whole Foods Market stores.