Annie’s has done it again. Just when you think “how are they going to top [insert their latest cool product here]?” – they come out with the next nifty thing that fills a niche. Before talking about their newest product, though, I think a brief history lesson is in order.

Most folks know about Annie’s Homegrown Macaroni and Cheese. It’s a legendary natural foods item. Starting a few years ago, Annie’s decided they wanted to expand their portfolio. They took the lovable bunny that adorns their mac and cheese box and they decided it would make a nice cracker. Literally. No surprise: Annie’s Cheddar Bunny Cracker is loved by millions of kids and adults alike.

Next, Annie’s and that lovable bunny took on the cereal category. They hit another home run with their delicious low sugar cereals. The encore to that? Organic Bunny-shaped Fruit Snacks. Another score.

Now, as I mentioned, how are they going to top all that? Here’s how: an organic version of the classically favorite snack mix? Annie’s developed an organic snack mix devoid of all the artificial flavors and hydrogenated oils of the conventional versions. The mix includes the cheddar bunny cracker, a butter version of the cracker and bunny shaped pretzels. Kids and adults alike will love this great combination of snacky goodness.

The question is not if you’re going to like them, but how will you eat the mix? Will you snack indiscriminately? Will you hoard the pretzels? Will you pick out the butter bunnies for your personal snacking satisfaction? Whatever your style, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this latest tasty endeavor. The snack mix…as well as the other Annie’s items mentioned…are in our stores now, so try a box today for yourself.

Continuing our cold weather = tea weather theme, I wanted to spotlight the Choice Organic Teas.  Recently Whole Foods Market launched four new tea items from Choice, a new line of full leaf teas, which, if you recall my last post, is one of the hottest trends in the tea category.  The tea experts at Choice use hand-picked whole leaf teas, flavorful herbs, and delicate flowers in a biodegradable tea pyramid pouch.  The pouch and the pungent tea leaves are the precise combination to create the prefect brew.  The new products are a mix of traditional methods and flavors combined with high quality tea.

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As the weather gets colder, the thought of a warm cup of tea sounds pretty good to plenty of folks. Tea’s popularity has increased immensely in the last few years. It’s viewed as medicinal and therapeutic and many people have begun to make it part of their daily routine. However, tea still somewhat carries the stigma of a cold weather beverage. This is one of the reasons that at Whole Foods Market we look to launch new tea items when the weather turns brisk (we also launch new iced teas when the weather starts to warm up), so If you’re looking for some new teas to try, you’re in luck as we have some fantastic new ones available in our stores now.

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My last blog entry was extolling the virtues of Sacha Inchi and how this unique food discovery came to be found in Whole Foods Market stores courtesy of our good friends Laurent and Thierry at the Brandstorm Company.  As promised, this time around I want to give a quick run down on the other nifty products in the TerrAmazon line.  As I mentioned, there are quite a few products that involve cacao due to its ubiquitous nature in South America.  The TerrAmazon cacao is certified USDA Organic and derived from a rare variety of cacao called Criollo, which is less bitter and more aromatic than other species of cacao.  The single ingredient cacao products include cacao powder and cacao nibs.

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It all started with a brief conversation at the Fancy Food Show in New York City in July of 2007.  The owner of a company was telling me about an idea for a new product.

“What’s it called?” I asked inquisitively.
“Sacha Inchi,” he said.
“Uh…I’ve never heard of it.” I replied.  I asked him what it was.
“It’s the next cool thing.” he predicted.

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Okay, I admit it. I still have a craving for sweet cereals. I fondly remember cocoa puffs, fruit loops and their sugary bliss. It probably tasted so good because it had a ton of sugar in it. Back when I was a kid, people didn’t really pay a lot of attention to sugar content. This was cereal…it had to be good for you…right? Not so fast. Upon further review, it seems that loading up kids with a ton of sugar in the morning — not to mention artificial colors and preservatives — was not prudent.

A few years back nutritionists and parents alike started scrutinizing the sugar content in foods designed for kids. Recently we’ve seen lots of products touting lower sugar content. Cereal was an obvious choice for new lower sugar products, but the real trick in kids’ cereals was to get them to taste good with less sugar. I remember the first iterations of low sugar cereals…they just didn’t taste enough like the products people were used to buying.

The good news is that’s all changed.

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Continuing the theme from my last post…which was about products designed for kids with special diets…I have more new “special” products available at Whole Foods Market to share with you. This time we’re talking non-dairy. For those folks who have an allergy or aversion to dairy, their choices can be limited — think rice- and soy-based products. The good news is that there have been some recent innovations that have created more choices.

Let’s say you’d love to eat yogurt, but…you can’t because of the dairy, so you look for a non-dairy yogurt and all you see is soy-based products and…you’ve got an aversion to soy as well. Sound unlikely? It’s not. There are thousands of people who have problems with both dairy and soy. There are even more who want an alternative to dairy, but don’t enjoy the taste of soy. Enter So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt. Turns out, coconut milk is dairy and lactose free. Who knew? The good people at Turtle Mountain did. They have been innovators in frozen non-dairy products since 1990, but only recently got into the yogurt business.

In January we launched their first foray into the category with a fantastic tasting soy-based yogurt. After testing the waters successfully, they let their creative juices flow and recently showed us…in my opinion…the biggest innovation in non-dairy yogurt since the first soy-based yogurts hit the market years ago. These coconut-based non-dairy yogurts are what we refer to as a “no brainer” — as in an obvious choice to sell in our stores. There are six flavors available. Some have a bit of the coconut flavor shine through but others don’t have a hint. My fave is the Passionate Mango. Besides tasting great…and being dairy/lactose free…they’re soy-free, cholesterol-free, trans fat-free, contain pre- and probiotics and are certified vegan. These innovative new products are in stores now. Whether you have an allergy or are just looking to try something new, give them a try.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is to seek out new and innovative products for you, our customers. That means I see literally hundreds of new products every month hoping to make it onto Whole Foods Market’s shelves. Many of them don’t make the cut. However, the new pizza and pasta meal kits from Ian’s definitely caught my eye. First, they’re made for kids…which is a hot trend right now. Just look around our store, kid-friendly products abound. But what sets Ian’s apart is their recognition of special diets. Realizing the growing population of kids who have dietary allergies to gluten, wheat, dairy, and eggs, when Ian’s developed their pasta and pizza meals kits, they created two options… a special diets version alongside the standard variety. Designed with kids in mind, these kits provide a hands-on experience. With the help of an adult, a kid can assemble and cook their very own dish. Each kit comes with all the ingredients necessary to make a pizza or pasta meal for one. And because they’re not frozen or refrigerated, just stock them in your cupboard until you need them…that’s convenience…something many of us place a premium on nowadays.

Interested in other cool products from Ian’s? Check out their Cookie Buttons… guess what…they come in two versions as well.

If all that wasn’t enough, you got an otter. As in Andy the Otter, the venerable mascot for Ian’s kids products. And who doesn’t love an otter? Not only is Andy on the package, he leads the SuperFit Kid program online, where he combines fun and prizes with education and tips for developing healthy habits.

These Ian’s items are in store now so check them out.