Specialty Food Magazine

IMAGE PLANTEGA NYC Bodega Coolers Increase Plant-Based Food Access Plantega, an initiative formed by four mission-led food advocates, is placing coolers stocked with plant-based food and beverages in bodegas across New York City. Plantega was launched in November by restaurant owner Erick Castro, Eat For the Planet's Nil Zacharias, artist D.J. Cavern, and vegan graphic design shop Parfait Studio. Brands such as Beyond Meat, Eat Just, Tofurky, Miyoko's Creamery, Good Catch, Follow Your Heart, No Evil Foods, Nutpods, Lupii, Hälsa, and Pan's Mushroom Jerky, are included. "Bringing these plant-based products to my hometown and surrounding neighborhoods is a tremendous opportunity at just the right time. These bodegas are our lifeline, the gateway to food for so many, from nurses on the run to late-night needs," Castro told Veg World Magazine. "We are here to learn but also to show how delicious, healthy, and affordable eating plant-based really is." Three locations are part of the initial pilot: Don Poli Meat Market and Marinello's Gourmet Deli in Brooklyn, and My Deli Gourmet and Grill in the Bronx. Each carries around 30 plant- based items in both coolers and on countertop displays. Some are also offered on grill menus. Plantega hopes to expand the pilot program. On its website, the company invites consumers to email suggestions for new locations.—Arielle Feger Natural, Organic Product Launches on the Upswing Despite industry-wide COVID-19 disruption, the number of U.S. natural and organic product launches in 2020 was forecast to be 7 percent higher than 2019, according to Mintel's Global New Products Database. New product launches had been decreasing each year since 2016, following the trend of total food and beverage launches (including all products, not just natural and organic) monitored in the U.S. during the same time period. As of October 2020, the number of total new product launches was down from 2019, "but only very slightly and perhaps not as much as we might expect considering COVID-19," said David Browne, market research retail and brand consultant, who works with the Specialty Food Association on the annual State of the Specialty Food Industry research. As for the natural and organic product bump, "in some cases retailers really scrambled to find new products to fill holes on their shelves through March-May and this likely benefitted smaller specialty brands when big "legacy" CPG brands (both natural and conventional) were dealing with shortages," says Browne.—D.P. Chile Candies Are Hot on Social Media A sweet-hot candy trend based on traditional Mexican confections is intriguing U.S. consumers thanks to social media. Tajin, a Mexican chile spice blend, is increasingly coating candies, most predominantly on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram videos, to create dulces enchiladas, aka Chile Candies. The most popular iteration is Chile Gushers, made by coating Fruit Gushers candies with Chamoy sauce, made from fermented fruit and chiles, and tajin, made of dried granulated chiles de arbol, guajillo, and pasilla chiles, dehydrated lime, and salt. The mixture can also be used on other candies like Skittles. While tajin has been available on the U.S. market since 1993, it has become more familiar in recent years. In 2018, Tajin, the company that has made the spice since 1985, partnered with chef Claudia Sandoval, a winner of the U.S. edition of "MasterChef," who promoted the blend's more savory uses in recipes like a seven-layer dip. Now, its use on sweets is getting more attention through these candy recipes, which reflect different sweet-hot-tart Mexican chews and gummy confections, and as an ingredient on melons or citrus fruits or in fruit drinks, both traditional in Mexico and Mexican- American neighborhoods. Brands like Enchilados in South Texas and Yum Yum Gummies in California, offer the chile candies for sale. —Denise Purcell † SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM TRENDS & HAPPENINGS

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