KANSAS CITY — The plant-based trend continues to permeate the retail market, as evidenced by new plant-based pizzas, beverages and frozen desserts.
A line of frozen pizzas featuring plant-based crusts is launching as part of an ongoing collaboration between the Kraft Heinz Co. and Oprah Winfrey. O, That’s Good! Frozen Pizza is the third product category from Mealtime Stories, L.L.C., the joint venture between Kraft Heinz and Ms. Winfrey, which last year unveiled refrigerated soups and side dishes with a better-for-you twist. Featuring a crust made with cauliflower, frozen pizza varieties include pepperoni, five cheese, supreme and fire roasted vegetable.
“At Kraft Heinz, we understand that the trifecta of great taste, real ingredients and convenience in food options is nearly impossible to find,” said Christopher Urban, head of Mealtime Stories at Kraft Heinz. “After the success of O, That’s Good! refrigerated soups and sides, we wanted to bring excitement to the pizza category and give families even more delicious options to please everyone at the dinner table.”
The Campbell Soup Co. is launching V8+Hydrate, a line of sweet potato-powered hydration beverages sweetened with stevia.
Gluten-free and non-G.M.O., the plant-based beverages blend the electrolytes and glucose of sweet potatoes with purified water to create an isotonic beverage that replenishes fluids and nutrients, Campbell Soup said. Each 8-oz can contains 45 calories and one full serving of vegetables. Varieties include strawberry cucumber, coconut watermelon and orange grapefruit.
“As the vegetable nutrition experts for over 80 years, we know our consumers are seeking to live healthier lifestyles and turning to products that contain added nutrients and functionality,” said Diego Palmieri, chief marketing officer of U.S. Meals & Beverages at Campbell Soup. “V8+Hydrate is a beverage that responds to key consumer demands with a clean, crisp, great taste, and at a more accessible price point. Whether you’re on the go, or just finishing your work-out, V8+Hydrate brings a full-suite of benefits to the table through the inherent goodness of sweet potatoes.”
Low-calorie ice cream brand Arctic Zero is joining the plant-based frozen dessert fray with the launch of nine options made with faba bean protein. The company said it has reformulated its original line of lactose-free, whey protein-based frozen desserts to accommodate dairy-free diets. Flavors include chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel, cookie shake, chocolate, cake batter, brownie blast, cookie dough chunk, mint and cherry chocolate chunk.
The products contain 160 to 320 calories per pint and are sweetened with organic cane sugar and monk fruit. The company said it experimented with dozens of sources of plant-based protein before landing on faba bean protein, which has a smoother, sweeter, richer flavor than many other plant proteins, according to the company.
“We created the original Arctic Zero so that people with restrictions like lactose intolerance, low-sugar and low-calorie diets could enjoy a delicious frozen dessert without junk ingredients like erythritol and other sugar alcohols,” said Amit Pandhi, chief executive officer of Arctic Zero. “True to our founding promise, our new plant-based Arctic Zero Non-Dairy contains the cleanest, premium ingredients we could source, including faba bean protein. We’re confident our longtime fans also are going to love the change. Arctic Zero Non-Dairy pints have a much stronger, richer flavor that really wows and a creamier texture than ever.”
