The Industry Is Growing by Leaps, Bounds

Three distinct developments are fueling the explosive growth in the food industry’s new products category: technological innovation, the gourmet upgrade and appeals to health consciousness.

On the various fronts, manufacturers are unveiling food and household items at a record pace this year in what amounts to a wholesale redesign of grocery cart contents. What was once considered an extremely conservative industry is beginning to acquire the short attention span of the fashion trade, where new styles are unveiled each year.

For example, while juice companies are further fortifying their products with essential minerals, dairy firms are using fizz and flavors to make milk more sultry than its wholesome, but somewhat dull, image.

Then there are the food technologists and genetic engineers who are bringing different shapes not only to packages, but to familiar produce items and protein sources. And while the snack food people add every conceivable variation to chips and dips, other companies continue to enter the lucrative between-meal eating derby with yet more temptations.

This year’s significant evolution prompted New Product News, a DFS-Dorland Worldwide publication, to comment recently that “Americans are rapidly becoming very adventuresome eaters.”

In addition to their curiousity, consumers will also need voracious appetites to sample their way through some of the latest entries in the competition for supermarket shelf space. In the first eight months of 1986, for instance, there have been 1,659 food and household items making debuts. The total exceeds by 200 the number of introductions during a corresponding period in 1985, according to New Product News.

Still open for speculation, though, is whether perceived changes in public consumption are driving manufacturers to constantly update. Or is the innovation glut a result of the companies’ quest to increase market share with ever enlarging product lines? Whichever is true, surveys have shown that most new products fail to reach sales goals and are withdrawn from the market.

Some of the latest hopefuls follow.

The Fortification Game--Sources of calcium are coming in many different forms apart from the over-the-counter supplemental tablets. The proliferation is encouraged by medical research, which indicates a significant portion of the population, primarily women, is deficient in the mineral.

Now, Citrus Hill Plus Calcium makes it possible to obtain 33% of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recommended daily intake of calcium in only an eight-ounce glass of juice drink--or the same as found in a similar serving of milk. The Procter & Gamble Co. product is being touted as one of the best available food sources for the mineral. The 300-milligram level in a single glass of the orange or grapefruit varieties is exceeded on a per-serving basis only by fresh collard greens, sardines with bones or plain, low-fat yogurt.

The firm also claims that the calcium in Citrus Hill is more digestable than that found in other food sources. What is likely to be the first highly fortified juice drink was made possible by the development of a manufacturing process that maintained an acceptable citrus flavor in addition to the mineralization.

Other calcium-laden items still in limited test markets include Coca-Cola Co.’s reformulated Tab soft drink and an experimental product developed by the California Milk Advisory Board called Vital 15. The latter is a calcium- and vitamin-fortified milk in the midst of a San Diego-area trial run.

Milk’s Makeover--Vital 15 is another in a procession of dairy products being introduced in hopes of stemming the decline in national milk consumption while making inroads on the lucrative soft drink segment. One of the most promising such beverages is a carbonated milk being tested by the United Dairy Industry Assn., a Chicago-based organization. Despite considerable press attention, the product has not moved beyond the laboratory.

Another hopeful is Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer-Flavored Milk now being distributed in Detroit. The beverage is a more drinkable version of an ice cream float made with Dad’s Root Beer. At present, a 32-ounce carton sells for $1.19.

Flavor is also a key word in the recently introduced Tootje, a liquid dessert which originated in the Netherlands and is now manufactured in California. Tootje is a rich, fluid, pudding-like product in chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. Known generically in Europe as vla , the dessert is made with as much as 90% milk and with a lower sugar content than either ice cream or yogurt. Vla is so popular with the Dutch that the per-capita consumption is about 28 pounds annually, according to Mach Schoneveld, who introduced the product to this country.

However, Tootje is having a little trouble breaking into the U.S. market. It will soon be renamed Touje because its current spelling and pronunciation too closely resemble that of the candy roll trademarked as Tootsie.

Bags, Beans, Beverages--Advances and creativity have also come into play with a few lower-profile beverages. Taking a leaf from its tea division, the Tetley Co. is introducing Microwave Coffee Bags. New Product News reports that the firm offers both regular and decaffeinated ground coffee in its 20-bag boxes. Each bag makes a single cup of coffee in three microwave minutes. The bags are still in test marketing on the East Coast. Retail prices are about $3 per package.

A bit more on the obscure side is an effort by Brightsong Foods in Petaluma, Calif. In time for the approaching holiday season, the company will distribute Tofu Nog--a non-dairy version of the creamy seasonal drink. Honey is used to sweeten the flavored tofu drink, which contains no cholesterol or lactose. A description of Tofu Nog released by the company is a bit tentative and states that the “beverage . . . reportedly looks, tastes and smells like the real thing.” Whether Tofu Nog holds up to the addition of holiday spirits remains to be seen.

Being Square and Cold--As the novelty of miniature or baby vegetables begins to dim, a Franklin, N.C., firm may be among the first to offer the next produce gimmick. For the past several months, Vegetable Arts has been marketing square zucchini, primarily to the restaurant industry in the Southeastern United States.

A patented process is responsible for the unique look, whose popularity has not been stalled by a $4-a-vegetable price tag. One food industry trade journal has reported that the company obtains the four-sided, oblong squash by securing a mold over each zucchini plant blossom. The vegetable then grows into the exact dimensions of the mold. In addition to uniformity, the firm offers raised lettering on each zucchini. For now, only Vegetable Art’s logo has been selected for such a distinction, but several restaurants, hotel chains and airline companies are interested in obtaining their own personalized squash. The company’s future plans call for triangular and hexagonal models.

A related vegetable theme is found in a dessert being manufactured by a Tampa, Fla., religious organization entitled the Glorious Church of God in Christ. The group, led by the Rev. C.L. Kennedy, has found that consumers are very receptive to its newly released vegetable ice cream. Some of the varieties offered include carrot-raisin, celery-apple-walnut, black cherry-red beet and celery-pecan, according to a recent newsletter report. A more traditional milk-honey flavor is also offered.

Nibbling Nuances--In the between-meals category, Major Lite, a Buffalo Grove, Ill., company, has addressed the snacking concerns of those who shun sweets, such as diabetics, but still crave an occasional treat. The firm recently brought to market a sugar-free caramel popcorn under its own label in both one-ounce and 4.5-ounce bags. The coated kernels, which have a decidedly sweet, coconut taste, are also lower in sodium and calories than traditional caramel corn. Making the popped corn sugar free, yet sweet, was accomplished without artificial ingredients. The firm used a food-based starch, but prevented the normal chemical transformation into sugar.

On the salty side, International Baking Co. has developed a line of snacks that takes advantage of the increasing interest in ethnic foods. The Vernon, Calif.,-based firm is offering Bagel Chips, crunchy slices of the popular delicatessen item. The oven-baked Bagel Chips come in three different flavors: sour cream-onion, pizza and garlic-herb. The name is a little deceiving because these bagel remnants come without the traditional hole in the center. International also offers chips off its pita pockets and sourdough bread.

Emphasizing Style--One way to identify an upscale product is to note whether the word gourmet appears at least once on the label. There is no problem making the connection on one of the best things to come along in the soup world since bouillon cubes. J. Helfend International is now offering to consumers a shortcut that’s been available to restaurants for years--a soup base or concentrate. Under the name Gourmet Flair, the Los Angeles firm is marketing both a chicken and a beef variety. The six-ounce jar of “instant gourmet stock” retails for $5, but it makes about 30 eight-ounce servings.

And General Mills has come along to assist those connoisseurs who have a problem with carting fancy mustards along on picnics. Under its Oroweat label, the food-products conglomerate is now distributing Dijon Rye Bread, described as having the “tangy taste of real . . . mustard.”

A Morning Must--Thanks to Ralston Purina, no one will have to go through the morning without their nerds. That’s because the company recently announced that its new breakfast cereal will be called just that--Nerds. Two different flavors are offered in each box: a strawberry-grape or orange-cherry combination. Other than the fact that each flavor pours from its own side of the box, there is not much to distinguish the new Nerds, a particularly appropriate development.