A gourmet ice cream store in Hong Kong that sources milk from Australia is breaking new taboos in the ice cream world with its French Lobster flavour ice cream. Owner of the Ice Cream Gallery, ice cream chef Arron Lui revealed his most recent foray into unusual flavours at the Hong Kong Food Expo last week. Mr Liu says the French Lobster ice cream is the most complicated of the 600 flavours of ice cream he has developed since he began in 1994. The Ice Cream Gallery’s French range also includes... ...Read more »

United Biscuits is expanding its McVitie’s biscuits range in the UK with the launch of the brand extension McVitie’s Quirks.Available for retailers to buy from the middle of the month, Quirks biscuits are aimed at “new, younger consumers”, Victoria Gregory, marketing controller for McVitie’s at United Biscuits, said. Quirks have a “smooth, chocolately centre, fully-enclosed within a crunchy biscuit”, the company added. There will be three variants available... ...Read more »

Entries are now open for the 2012 Product of the Year Awards, recognising Australia’s most innovative products to hit supermarket shelves this year. The winning products are selected by over 5,000 shoppers in the biggest independent consumer survey in the country. To be eligible for entry, products must launch between January 2010 and August 2011 and be either a completely new type of product or a useful innovation to an existing product or brand, such as a new ingredient, redesigned shape or size,... ...Read more »

Heinz has announced the launch of two chili-flavoured ketchup varieties in the UK. The company said today (22 March) that the Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Fiery Chili and Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Chili will respond to consumer demand for “more adventurous flavours”. Heinz said its ketchup with fiery chilli will “satisfy the taste buds of more adventurous consumers”, while the chili flavour has been “created for those who prefer a milder chilli flavour to liven up meal... ...Read more »

Nestlé today unveiled a range of international seasonal twists on its products around the world, with Christmas products launching in the UK, Czech Republic, Canada, Brazil, China, Mexico, France, Belgium, Italy and the Phillipines. As well as gift boxes and holiday wrappings, this year’s Christmas offerings include an ice-your-own chocolate pig, festively-printed Smarties, a vanilla and walnut Nescafe Winter Blend, ice cream logs and a special edition Bvlgari bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling... ...Read more »

Asia-Pacific consumer brands will succeed in the recovering economic markets if lessons are learnt from the last two years, according to new research from independent business analyst Datamonitor. The study has revealed the difficulties brands face in capturing the attention of consumers, with 67% of Australians saying they simply don’t even notice new alcoholic drinks on the shelves. Datamonitor figures show manufacturers bombarded the FMCG market with over 1600 product innovations launched... ...Read more »

US food and drink manufacturers have seen a decline in product launches in 2009 due to the recession, reports Mintel’s Global New Product Database (GNPD), but certain types of products saw growth in a sign of certain trends coming to the fore. Food and drink product launches have declined significantly since 2008, down nearly 30 per cent. Lynn Dornblaser, leading new product expert at Mintel, notes that the GNDP has never tracked a decline in launches of such magnitude in its decade-long history. “We... ...Read more »

Kraft Foods is hopeful restaurant trends will help them capture the attention of grocery shoppers, with a heavy new product focus on restaurant-inspired flavours. Throughout the global financial crisis food manufacturers have been among the best industry performers with assistance from the trend toward eating at home instead of going out. And it is this cocooning trend that Kraft hopes to tap into with its new products. “Many of our new items reflect consumers’ interests in bold flavours,... ...Read more »

Food manufacturers are confronted with conflicting messages from consumers, with most saying they plan to commit to a healthier diet but relatively few following through. However, it hasn’t stopped a number of manufacturers from reaping great success from adopting a health and wellness focus and a new American report – “Health & Wellness: Redefining Healthy Living” from market researchers IRI – suggests the bulk of the health and wellness potential remains untapped. “During... ...Read more »

Jindi, located in the heart of the Victorian dairy belt and renowned for its award-winning Brie, has expanded its retail offering this month with the introduction of eight new variants in response to changing preferences of cheese consumers. The four new blues, washed rind Rustic Brie and more complex flavoured, premium Reserve range have been developed by veteran cheese artisan, Normandy-born Franck Beaurain, in new state-of-the-art facilities which almost perished in the fires that ravaged Gippsland... ...Read more »