Back to the Basics
It’s not easy for a person to maintain healthy eating habits when he or she juggles a job and a family — and barely has enough time to hit the gym. Thankfully, frozen smoothie mixes offer today’s time-strapped consumers a quick and easy way to get a boost of nutrition during the day, says Marc Halperin, chief operating officer of CCD Innovation, Emeryville, Calif.
“This concept provides easy access to a product that can be challenging — and inconsistent — to put together yourself,” he explains.
Trends with traction
The biggest trend in the frozen smoothie mix category is the surging demand for pure fruit smoothies — products that do not include a dairy component — says Christine Herrera, vice president of marketing for Placentia, Calif.-based Sunrise Growers~Frozsun Foods.
“Pure fruit smoothies can be claimed as ‘all natural,’ and consumers are seeking out these types of healthy and great-tasting products,” she points out. “Oftentimes, the dairy component includes sweeteners that are not all-natural. We’re seeing a strong shopper desire to get back to the basics: simple ingredient statement, very easy to prepare.”
In addition, Herrera says she is seeing more activity in smoothie mixes comprising fruit-and-vegetable combinations — particularly products incorporating kale as the vegetable component.
“I think that’s targeted more toward moms as a way to help them get more vegetables into their kids’ diets — in a way that their kids don’t even know they’re getting a serving of vegetables,” she states.
Also in vogue are mixes with ingredients such as chia seeds or coffee to provide an “energy element,” Herrera offers.
“However, these offerings are fairly trendy and may end up as a fad,” she cautions.
Trends on the horizon
In the coming year, smoothie mix brands are going to bring in a wider variety of fruit and vegetables to make their offerings “more on par” with those of quick-service smoothie chains, predicts Kazia Jankowski, an associate culinary director at Sterling-Rice Group, Boulder, Colo.
“Innovative smoothie mix companies might also start to consider if the frozen smoothie can provide a completely different experience than its fresh juice/smoothie counterparts,” she adds. “For example: Can the frozen smoothie [offer] more of a healthy dessert experience?”
The coconut water frenzy could also spark more sales in the frozen smoothie mix category this coming year. Herrera says she expects to see frozen smoothie mixes with coconut and coconut water arriving on shelves in 2014.
And cherries — loved by many health-conscious consumers for their richness in antioxidants — will be a big deal in the frozen smoothie mix category next year, Herrera states.
“Superfruits are really, really big, and they continue to gain steam,” she explains. “This is not just a flavor of the month, but responds to consumers’ deep desires to feel healthier, live longer and be good to themselves and their families.”
What won’t be such a big deal are “smoothie shakers” — single-serve canisters of fruit and yogurt that consumers prepare by adding juice and shaking them — which are expected to decline in number as brands fight to keep their shelf space in 2014.
“They’re kind of a novelty item,” Herrera notes. “Retailers got excited about them when they first came out, and now we’re seeing a lot of shelf-space reduction.”