Leftovers: Nestlé sweetens game day with Cookie Nachos | Godiva doubles down on gourmet chocolate
Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
Nestlé bakes up a snacking game plan
CPG giant Nestlé is aiming to score with its latest version of a gametime snack.
The company debuted Toll House Cookie Nachos kits. Consumers can enter their creations to win (win what?) for a limited time starting Wednesday, Nov. 6. The product includes chocolate chip cookie dough, three kinds of chip morsels, cookie cutters shaped like chips and a $25 gift card to buy other toppings, like maraschino cherries.
“Cookie nachos” gained popularity when it became a viral TikTok dessert recipe in recent years. The dish includes a plate of chocolate chip cookies with toppings that mimic a plate of tortilla chips.
To coincide with the launch, the brand unveiled an ad partnership with former NFL star Peyton Manning, angling the product as a treat to enjoy during a big game.
“Connecting people over a shared plate of warm, freshly baked cookies has always been at the heart of our business,” said Melanie Knoke, the senior marketing manager of Toll House. “Our partnership with Peyton Manning is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday and football season, made even sweeter with the ultimate shareable snack – Cookie Nachos!”
Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, first invented the chocolate chip cookie over 80 years ago after adding a cut up Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar to her cookie batter. After reaching a deal with the chef to adopt her recipe, Nestlé began selling chocolate chips under the Toll House brand in 1939. Nestlé debuted edible cookie dough in 2019, and has launched a variety of other Toll House products including a Triple Chip blend of three types of chocolate chips earlier this year.
—Chris Casey
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Permission granted by Pladis
Godiva is sweet on US confections
Godiva is doubling down on its premium halo with the launch of a new box of gourmet chocolates.
The brand’s limited-edition Belgian Heritage Collection contains a dozen chocolates and confections that have not been previously sold in the U.S. The pieces were crafted in Brussels where the brand was founded nearly 100 years ago.
Carlos Canals, managing director for Pladis Americas, which oversees the Godiva brand, said he traveled to Belgium to assemble the new box. After sorting through hundreds of chocolates and confections, Canals and his team settled on the 12 pieces that make up the collection.
The offerings include: G-Macadamia, a milk chocolate shell filled with Godiva’s signature hazelnut praliné, caramelized macadamia nuts and buttery biscuits crisps; Ruby G, the brand’s first foray into ruby chocolate; and Paris Brest, a dark chocolate almond praliné ganache mixed with a crunchy hazelnut mousse placed inside a dark chocolate shell topped with a caramel crumble.
“This gift of GODIVA brings the delicious and complex flavors from Brussels to American consumers,” Steve Lesnard, Godiva’s president, said in a statement. “We are offering [consumers] the ultimate chocolate experience and a glimpse at the future of GODIVA – a relevant brand steeped in masterful tradition and grounded in craftsmanship, creativity, and cultural relevance.”
Pladis, the global confectionery and snack foods company headquartered in London, also owns 108-year-old confection brand Turtles as well as Flipz, a sweet and salty chocolate or fudge-covered pretzel.
The company has identified innovation, different pack sizes, store displays and seasonal offerings as key to growing the confections. Sales for its three brands totaled nearly $400 million in 2023.
—Christopher Doering
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Permission granted by Daiya
Daiya levels up in its plant-based cheese
Leading alternative dairy brand Daiya is bringing a new recipe to its vegan pizzas.
The company recently launched a refreshed product line designed to elevate the plant-based pizza experience by addressing common challenges within the category, including inconsistent taste and texture, it said.
The reformulated offerings comes in five offerings: Cheese, Meatless Pepperoni, Supreme, Fire Roasted Veggie, Meatless BBQ Chick’n and Meatless Meat Lovers Pizza.
The product line features a new recipe for its crust, whose star ingredient is Daiya’s trademarked Oat Cream blend, which contains a fluffier and lighter texture, according to the company.
“Most dairy-free cheeses don’t melt properly and for pizza in particular, this significantly makes or breaks the consumer experience when the cheese doesn’t melt completely,” said Melanie Domer, chief commercial officer at Daiya in an emailed statement to Food Dive.
The company’s new recipe aims to create that same melty and bubbly experience consumers are used to with conventional pizza. To create buzz about the product, Daiya launched a Dairy Free Dairy tour, where the company is traveling across the U.S. handing out free samples of the product.
“Pizza is the ultimate cheesy food and is a big focus area for us, so it felt like the natural progression to turn our attention to that after the reformulation of our cheese products last year,” said Domer.
The company said it also recently invested millions of dollars into its in-house bakery to increase production.
“The two biggest barriers to plant-based eating are first and foremost, taste skepticism. Second is price. People aren’t looking for cheap, per se, but they’re looking for good value for the money,” Domer said.
“We expect this advancement to finally offer retailers a product that we feel bridges the gap between consumer expectations and dairy-free offerings.”
The new pizzas were launched in retail this month, with the dairy free tour continuing through the end of the month.
—Elizabeth Flood