As we move out of the status-quo imposed by the events of the last year-and-a-half, figures show that some categories have grown to a degree that guarantees a stable evolution over the following period. One of these categories if frozen finger food, which has been – and continues to be – at high demand. And looking at the variety offered by manufacturers, it’s easy to see why.
Talking about Innovate Foods’ “Now This Is Cheesy!” range, Frédéric Dervieux, CEO of Frostkrone Food Group says that the new brand „appeals primarily to the young target group that enjoys a huge variety of finger food when gaming together, going to small parties or watching an evening’s television. Families, too, are really sold on this product range. Especially when time is short, «Now This Is Cheesy!» is the answer, serving up enjoyment and relaxation.” So far four vegetarian flavours are available. Within the coming months, Innovate Foods is planning to extend the range. Regarding the general consumer trends identified this year by Frostkrone Food Group, Frédéric Dervieux points out that consumers love finger food and snacks, and The Frostkrone Food Group’s diversity and variety are driving a real food boom: „Our selection includes small finger food specialities, trendy snack ideas, tasty potato nibbles, exquisite cream cheese delicacies and practical pizza pockets for the oven and microwave. Every year the range is extended by new product ideas mirroring current trends.”
Free-from goods are hugely popular with consumers and the Frostkrone Food Group has launched “Green Date”, a complete snack range. Its six
varieties are bursting with vegetables. The vegan and gluten-free “Green Date” range has no preservatives, no flavour enhancers and is not pre-fried. The production process is especially gentle. Additionally, The Frostkrone Food Group has brought more varieties to its “Crunchy Homies” brand and will showcase these at the Anuga@home. These include Crunchy Brie Triangles (Brie with a sweet cranberry dip), Crunchy Emmental Sticks (full-flavoured, nutty Emmental with a sweet cranberry dip), Crunchy Gouda Rings (mild Gouda with a tangy tomato and pepper dip), and Crunchy Tomato and Mozzarella Mini Balls (soft mozzarella and dried tomatoes with a hint of basil, perfected with a fruity tomato dip).
Producer and supplier of vegetarian snacks and appetizers Le Duc Food is launching a new, veggie fingerfood concept: Veggie Fries. The Stellendam-based company was the first to manufacture American style Onion Rings in Europe in 1998 and added vegetable, cheese, and potato appetizers to its assortment. It currently supplies to hospitality and catering customers, wholesalers, quick service chains, premium brands, and retailers. Although Le Duc has always been a specialist in vegetarian snacks producing for international Business-to-Business customers, the family business has never really communicated about it’s vegetarian assortment. In 2019 Le Duc changed her logo into Le Duc Veggie and started communicating the brand actively. Following the introduction in 2020 of a new range of Veggie Burgers, Le Duc will now launch a range of Veggie Fries in four different varieties at Anuga in Cologne.
“As more and more people are consciously eating less meat, it is important to offer your guests vegetarian food and more vegetables in an attractive way. The way in which you present your vegetarian food is decisive in the success of your sales,” according to Dick den Hertog, founder of Le Duc. “At the other hand the best way to present vegetarian snacks is letting people eat veggie snacks unnoticed more often. A broad group of consumers is prejudged and will not choose vegetarian actively. By offering them finger licking tasty Dipping snacks, they will eat this snacks unnoticed. During COVID-19 the sales of fingerfood was rising. Consumers have a greater need to comfort themselves by snacking at different moments of the day. That’s why we extended our assortment with Veggie Fries. It goes without saying that vegetarian snacks should be tasty. Growing up between the onion- and potato fields, we respect nature and we realize that we can only make a tasty product with the best ingredients from nature.”
To read the entire article, please access your complimentary e-copy of Frozen Food Dossier, issue 2/2021, here.