With more consumers seeking high-quality protein — snacking cheeses and other portable dairy products are all the rage. Many manufacturers are answering the call with innovative new flavors, packaging and concepts.
In honor of National Dairy Month, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite new on-the-go dairy products.
Grab-and-go cheese products
1) Chicago-based Hillshire Snacking has small plates — single-serve packages of cheese, salame and toasted crackers.
The plates come in four varieties: Italian Dry Salame with Natural Gouda Cheese; Genoa Salame with Natural White Cheddar Cheese; Wine Infused Salame with Natural White Cheddar Cheese; and Hot Calabrese Salame with Natural Gouda Cheese.
The wine-infused salame variety contains 300 calories, 21 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein per package. The suggested retail price is $2.99 per 2.76-ounce package and its available nationwide.
2) Reichel Foods, Rochester, Minn., added four new varieties to its Pro2Snax line, a single-serve snack pack that features fresh produce paired with a healthy protein, like cheese.
The new varieties are: Baby Carrots with Sriracha‐Jack Cheese; Baby Carrots with White Cheddar Cheese & Almonds; Sweet Gala Apples with Mild Cheddar Cheese & Pretzels; and Sliced Apples with Mild Cheddar Cheese, Dried Cranberries & Cashews.
The baby carrots with white Cheddar and almonds variety contains 140 calories and 7 grams of protein. The suggested retail price for each 2.6-ounce package is $1.49 to $1.99. It's sold in grocery stores, convenience stores and Mass Merchandisers, nationwide.
3) Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Grantsburg, Wis., added a unique new flavor to its innovative string cheese line. The latest flavor, Garden Veggie, is a mozzarella string cheese blended with all-natural vegetables.
The suggested retail for a 9-pack 7.5-ounce bag is $4.99. Each piece is individually wrapped for convenience. Each cheese stick contains 70 calories and 6 grams of protein.
Garden Veggie joins its other string cheese flavors including: Pepperoni Pizza, Zesty Teriyaki, Hot Pepper Beef, Smoked, and Creamy Original. These products are sold mostly in the Midwest, including Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.
4) Sargento Foods, Plymouth, Wis., created Snack Bites — small sticks of natural cheese sold in a 6-ounce resealable bag. The cheese comes in four varieties, including sharp Cheddar and Colby-Pepper Jack. Read more about this cheese product here.
5) BelGioioso Cheese, Green Bay, Wis., introduced cheeses packaged for portion control and convenience in fontina and mozzarella varieties.
Three pieces of fontina (totaling 0.75 ounces) are packaged in a bag. A serving (one bag) contains 70 calories. The cheese is sold in an 8-pack for $3.50 to $4. The cheeses are available at select retailers on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Read more about this product and others similar here.
6) Old Croc, maker of Australian cheeses, and distributed by Trugman-Nash LLC, Millburn, N.J., introduced Croc Bites earlier this year. The individually wrapped snack-size portions are sold in 6-ounce bags with eight portions. A 0.75-ounce bite serving has 5 grams of protein. Read more about this product here.
Portable yogurt and milk beverages
7) Norwich, N.Y.-based Chobani is jumping on the drinkable yogurt trend with its new Drink Chobani. The on-the-go Greek yogurt beverage will hit stores (including Walmart) nationwide in July and will be available in four varieties, including Strawberry Banana and Apple Cucumber Spinach. A 10-ounce serving (one bottle) has 14 grams of protein. Read more about this product here.
8) LaLa, a brand of Borden Dairy, Dallas, makes drinkable Greek yogurt smoothies. A 6.7-ounce serving (one bottle) contains 12 grams of protein. It comes in flavors like wild strawberry and harvest peach. Read more about this product and other similar here.
9) Horizon, a brand of WhiteWave Foods, Broomfield Colo., launched an organic chocolate Protein Plus dairy beverage. The single-serve milk beverage contains 15 grams of protein in a 10-ounce serving. It can be found at stores nationwide. Read more about this product here.
10) Organic Valley, LaFarge, Wis., launched organic, single-serve milks marketed to adults under the Good to Go brand. They’re available in 1% low-fat white and 1% low-fat chocolate milk varieties. An 11-ounce serving has 11 grams of protein. These can be found at retailers and convenience stores nationwide. Read more about the milk products here.
