KR Castlemaine has  launched a campaign for a pre-packaged ham product with the claim to be “natural”, using new technologies to become the “first Australian pre-packaged ham that is artificially preservative-free”. This new range of ham is said to be produced using cutting-edge High Pressure Pasteurisation (HPP) technology. The company claims that it “does not use heat”, thereby preserving texture and nutritional value for the product. HR Castlemaine also says  the new technology ... Read more »

Australia’s most talented chocolatiers and pastry chefs will descend on the Foodservice Expo on 27-29 May, 2012 at Moore Park, Sydney to compete for a spot in a prestigious World Chocolate Masters competition. The World Chocolate Masters, an initiative by Cacao Barry and Callebaut Chocolate, is the world’s premier culinary competition devoted solely to the art of chocolate. During the Australian Qualifier, the talented pastry chefs will go head-to-head as they create a range of chocolate masterpieces. The... Read more »

New Zealand based Cookie Time Limited (CTL) and Australian health-food giant Sanitarium have partnered in a major licensing deal to launch CTL’s new ‘breakthrough’ meal bar, ‘One Square Meal’, into the Australian market. The product features New Zealand’s famed manuka honey. The One Square Meal is described as “the total meal to go”, consisting of one-third of the recommended daily intake of energy, protein, carbohydrates, good fats and dietary fibre. The meal bar is presented in... Read more »

Nestle has created a new brand, “Maison Cailler” as the launching pad for a new form of direct marketing. The campaign will create a new marketing channel that bypasses conventional retailers. Consumers will register online to order a box of Maison Cailler, with five different testing flavors, such as milk, caramel, nut, fruit, vanilla and cocoa flavors. Consumers then use a profiling system where they “discover their chocolate personality” by sharing their preferences online with friends. Within... Read more »

One of Australia’s leading public health research bodies, The George Institute, has launched a new smartphone app which gives a Traffic Light rating based on the amount of total fat, saturated fat, sugars and sodium per 100 grams – green for ‘low’, amber for ‘medium’ and red for ‘high’. The new app, called ‘FoodSwitch’, is able to rate 20,000 packaged food products found in Australian supermarkets. The initiative is part of a new partnership with Bupa, one of Australia’s... Read more »

Food advertising network, Gourmet Ads, has issued its predictions of what the online advertising landscape has in store for those who are looking at advertising in the food sector.  Speaking from Australia and operating as a global business, Gourmet Ads’s founder and managing director Benjamin Christie has tipped the following trends: 1. Media Buying with Data In 2011, one of the buzz terms was DMP (data management platform). Christie  predicts that digital media buyers will seek out media-buying... Read more »

A free smartphone app, developed by the Western Australian State government agency Consumer Protection and called iShopWA, is now available for shoppers in the State of Western Australia to easily access information about their rights under the new Australian Consumer Law. WA’s Commerce Minister Simon O’Brien said this would be the first Christmas that West Australians have the protections of the new laws, and it was important that they knew their rights regarding refunds, warranties and lay-bys. “Many... Read more »

A mince pie worth £3,000 (A$4,700) has set a new world record for being the most expensive mince pie, according to World Records Academy. Designed by Andrew Stellitano, who runs food design firm Astarism, in London, the pie contains platinum leaf, a solid platinum coin, holy water from Lourdes to bind the pastry, vanilla beans and cinnamon from eastern spice markets and highly prized ambergris sugar derived from sperm whale secretions. The expensive pastry was brushed with Eggnog and gilded with... Read more »

Coca-Cola South Pacific today revealed its new ‘One Calorie Burnt in a Moment’ campaign for diet Coca-Cola. The potentially controversial new campaign targets young females as the brand works to “connect with a new generation of women”. The campaign will showcase a series of “cheeky moments” in which one calorie can “easily be burnt”, and emphasise the link to Diet Coke having less than one-calorie in every 200mL. Pamela Wyatt, Marketing Manager for Diet Coke said the campaign... Read more »

Australian restaurant chain Eagle Boys has launched what it claims to be Australia’s first profiterole pizza, the ‘Profiterizza’. Eagle Boys CEO Todd Clayton said, “At Eagle Boys we’ve focused on developing a real taste menu made from flavoursome ingredient combinations. We know our customers are always looking for something different to satisfy their tastebuds. The Profiterizza contains Bavarian custard, strawberries, chocolate fudge and patisserie crème filled profiteroles. Eagle Boys... Read more »