Baking&Snack - November 2011 - 94

NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Inventure Foods brings new meaning to the phrase ‘to go’ with Nathan’s Famous branded snacks.

nventure Foods, Inc., Phoenix, AZ, is no stranger to innovation. In fact, the company’s tagline is “innovative + new-venture = inventure.” So it’s no surprise that the company has yet again partnered with a food service company to launch a restaurant-themed snack line unlike any on the market. Already having found success with its Burger King and T.G.I. Friday’s branded snacks, Inventure teamed up with Nathan’s Famous to create Crunchy Crinkle Fries in three varieties — Cheddar Cheese, Chili Cheese and Honey Mustard — to embody the restaurant’s crinkle-cut French fries. “The Nathan’s Famous menu is legendary and brings with it a large demographic,” said Steve Sklar, senior vice-president, marketing, Inventure Foods. “We’re certainly going after fans of the restaurant and those who are aware of what the taste of Nathan’s is all about, but beyond that, we’re appealing to consumers who value great-tasting salty snacks that challenge the ordinary flavor profile of ordinary snack foods.”

After hosting consumer focus groups and investing plenty of R&D time, the company settled on the first three flavors to pay homage to the quick-service restaurant’s most popular menu items, but future flavors could get more imaginative still. “We don’t arrive at the table with a snack that we want to slap with a popular brand; we dive into the menu and give our creative R&D team room to create,” Mr. Sklar said. “I believe we hit it on the mark with our first offerings, and I’m optimistic we’ll have additional opportunities for new flavors in the future.” Late last year, Inventure added an extrusion line to its Bluffton, IN, plant for products such as the company’s Boulder Canyon Multigrain Cheddar Cheese Puffs. It used that line to create the new extruded potato snacks without additional investment. “The flavor profile, the shape and density of the crunch we’ve been able to capture with our proprietary extruded production equipment — it’s all very different,” Mr. Sklar said. “I’m confident there

isn’t a comparable product out there that replicates such a popular restaurant menu item.” Available nationwide by the first quarter of 2012, Nathan’s Famous Crunchy Crinkle Fries will retail in 2-oz bags for $1.79 and 3.5-oz packages for $2.19. The company also plans to launch a Nathan’s Famous crinkle-cut potato chip later this year in 1.25-oz single-serve bags priced from 99¢ to $1.29. The process of adapting successful restaurant menu items to packaged snacks isn’t an easy one, but Inventure puts in the time to make it work. “We spend countless hours and energy in the R&D and flavordevelopment phases — in part because we owe this level of consideration to our licensed brands,” Mr. Sklar said. “We value the license relationships that we have been able to establish and grow over the years and appreciate the level of trust each company grants Inventure Foods as we transform a popular menu item into a readyto-eat snack.” ◾ — Lucy Sutton

BAKING & SNACK / November 2011

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Baking&Snack - November 2011

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