New Chobani Champions are the first Greek yogurts in the United States made exclusively for children’s tastes. The company combines the nutritional benefits of its Greek yogurts, which traditionally appeal to adults, with kid-pleasing flavors, for an all-natural line of yogurts that are nutritious, delicious and fun to eat. The packages include games inside the tray for added amusement.

“At Chobani, we’re committed to living the ‘Nothing But Good’ philosophy,” says Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and founder of AgroFarma Inc., New Berlin, N.Y., Chobani’s parent company. “We take our role as America’s number-one Greek yogurt brand very seriously, and firmly believe good nutrition begins in childhood. We’re pleased to give parents a healthy option for children including the fun and tastiness kids enjoy.”

The 2% fat yogurts come in 4-ounce cups to accommodate a child-size appetite. Each serving packs in 10% of the daily calcium requirement with five live and active cultures including three probiotics, and two times more protein than other yogurts - providing 34% of the Daily Value. Chobani Champions come in three flavor combinations - StrawNana, VerryBerry and HoneyNana - as well as chocolate.

The Breyers Yogurt Co., North Lawrence, N.Y., reintroduces its Breyers’ YoCrunch 100 Calorie Packs now formulated with a stevia-based zero-calorie sweetener. This marks the first light yogurt to use the all-natural sweetener. There are five varieties of the yogurt, all with an attached dome cup of mix-ins. The cheesecake-flavored yogurt comes with graham cookie pieces and the strawberry yogurt with low-fat granola. Vanilla-flavored yogurt can come with chocolate chip cookie pieces, chocolate cookie pieces or Nestlé Crunch candy bar pieces. 

Ventura Foods LLC, Brea, Calif., marketers of dips, dressings and other condiments sold under the licensed Marie’s brand, is “venturing” into butter. New Marie’s Deli Style European Butter Blends are 9-ounce recloseable tubs of spreadable butter with either sweet or savory seasonings. The initial roll out includes five varieties: Cinnamon & Honey, Italian Three Cheese, Pesto, Roasted Garlic & Herb and Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil.

Can’t have nuts but love those ice cream cone sundae novelties dipped in chocolate? Orville, Ohio-based Smith Dairy Products Co., is making it possible for everyone, including those with peanut allergies, to enjoy this classic dessert with its new Ruggles Just Dipped Cones. Made without the traditional peanut topping, the round-top, chocolate-covered sundae cone comes in either vanilla ice cream or vanilla ice cream around a fudge center. Ruggles Just Dipped Cones are sold in a six-pack containing three of each variety at a suggested retail price of $3.99 to $4.99.

Dairy Foods offers Dairy Product Innovations ( www.dairyfoods.com/dpi), an e-newsletter focused on new dairy products and new products and services from dairy industry suppliers. Subscribers receive Dairy Product Innovations monthly with the occasional special installation or themed issue focusing on specific niches like artisan cheese or organic and natural foods. To subscribe, visitwww.dairyfoods.com.


noteworthy introductions

Dakin Dairy Farms, Myakka City, Fla., has been milking cows since 1973 and selling it at the farm’s store. Only recently has the dairy’s Farm Fresh Milk become available at Whole Foods Markets throughout Florida. The family-owned dairy says the high-protein grasses and grains that the cows consume give the milk a superb, fresh-from-the-farm taste.   Future plans include drinkable yogurt and specialty cheeses.

The Blue Bunny Durango from Wells’ Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa, is the most recent addition to the company’s growing better-for-you frozen novelty line. This vanilla raspberry frozen yogurt granola cone is described as containing probiotics and being a good source of calcium, fiber and protein.


international

Premium positioning is no stranger to the dairy category, but rarely do the terms “milk” and “luxury” appear together. That’s not the case in the United Kingdom where Boroughfields Dairy just launched a new version of its Gold Top Breakfast Milk. This thick, creamy, non-homogenized milk calls itself “luxurious,” a position enhanced by both package (rich graphics, a gold-hued cap) and product (sourced from fully traceable, pure bred herds of Jersey and Guernsey cows).

Most consumers have heard about superfruits, but what about super spices? The concept is fairly new in the West, but in Eastern societies, super spices have long been an important part of healthy diets. India’s MTR Foods has introduced Herbal Drink, a cinnamon-flavored milk containing four spices that have health properties and are commonly used in ayurvedic (ancient Indian) medicine. Cinnamon helps with immunity, inflammation and cholesterol control; black pepper promotes digestion and helps treat tooth decay and liver problems; ginger relieves arthritis and motion sickness; and cumin is beneficial for digestion, metabolism and immune health.

Japan’s  Kyo Luna An introduces a Kyoto Style Yogurt made with powdered vegetables from its namesake city. To balance the bitter flavors of radish and burdock root, the yogurt is flavored with brown sugar syrup. 

Contributed by Krista Faron, senior analyst, Mintel Custom Solutions,  Global New Products Database (GNPD). For more information call 312/932-0400 or visit www.gnpd.com.

Focus on cheese

The hot-off-the-presses report, “Natural & Specialty Blended Cheese in the U.S.,”  from Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md., provides an extensive overview of the booming American cheese business, including a discussion on trends from overseas making their way into the States. 

For example, Switzerland’s oldest branded product has a new look. Emmi (USA), Inc., Valley Cottage, N.Y., has redesigned the packaging for its Sap Sago cheese. It is now packaged in a recloseable cup and shipped in a 30-piece case, containing five display trays of six units. A brochure with easy recipes is available for free distribution to consumers, and easy recipes are included on the package. Sap Sago is shelf stable with an 18-month shelf life.

The precise procedure for making Sap Sago was established by monks in the Swiss canton of Glarus in 1463, along with a requirement for a stamp of origin. That original recipe is still followed. It calls for fresh skimmed cow’s milk to be blended with a special herb, Schabziger blue fenugreek, which gives Sap Sago its soft herb-green hue and distinctive taste. Sap Sago can be used for grating, spreading and seasoning.

Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo, Wis., is now marketing its signature cheese, Les Frères, to the foodservice industry. Les Frères is an original farmstead cheese produced in the finest Old World tradition in a cheese plant on the Crave family’s Wisconsin dairy farm. The name Les Frères, which translates to “the brothers,” refers to the four Crave brothers, who own the farm and the cheese plant; the artisan cheese was created to honor the family’s French-Irish heritage. Les Frères has won multiple awards in national and international cheese competitions.

Les Frères has the complex flavors that are the hallmark of a European-style cheese; its flavors are described as rich, full and savory, with notes of apple cider, mushrooms and toasted sesame. 

Les Frères is available in two sizes for restaurants and delis. A 2.5-pound random-weight wheel of the cheese is parchment wrapped and packed two per case. A smaller version is called Petit Frères, which means “little brother,” and comes in an eight-pack case of 8-ounce rounds.

The successful Knirps range of soft cheeses manufactured by J. Bauer GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg, Germany, has been further enhanced. The dairy offers the opportunity for cheese lovers to enjoy meals with Knirps oven cheese. The creamy, soft cheese with 60% fat is presented in two oven-safe and decorative wooden boxes. Like the whole Bauer cheese range, Knirps oven cheese is lactose free. The savory soft cheese is mildly spicy. It is ready to serve after just 10 minutes in the oven. Just remove from the oven, cut open the rind, peel back and serve as a cheese fondue or dip.

Woolwich Dairy Inc., of Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, and Lancaster, Wis., adds two new flavors - Lemon Poppyseed and Blueberry Pomegranate - to its Elite gourmet topped fresh chèvre line. Tangy lemon accented with poppyseeds and luscious blueberry paired with tart-sweet pomegranate provide plenty of menu versatility, offering consumers trendy, tasty options that work equally well for breakfast, snacking, dessert and cheese plates. These varieties join the already-popular Roasted Red Pepper and Cranberry with Port.