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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

candy

WNWN Debuts a Cocoa-Free Easter Egg

One of the joys of childhood is biting into giant chocolate Easter eggs. Unfortunately for us chocolate lovers, the cocoa industry is rife with problems, including the fact cocoa production is one of the significant drivers of deforestation and has long been plagued by human rights abuse.

Fortunately for those who want to have their eggs and eat them too (without feeling guilty), WNWN is rolling out what it claims is the world’s first cocoa-free Easter egg just in time for the holiday.

WNWN (pronounced “win-win”) uses what it says is a proprietary fermentation process to create cocoa-free chocolate from plant-based ingredients such as cereals and legumes. This company’s method results in what it says is a vegan, caffeine-free,’ gluten-free, and palm oil-free product that boasts 80% lower carbon emissions than conventional chocolate.

The Wegg is 15cm high and 10cm wide, weighs approximately 100 grams, and the company describes its flavor as having a nutty, malty notes with a dulce de leche finish. Inside the Wegg is cocoa-free choc filling.  

Sounds like a WN, but will kids like it? Early tests on WNWN’s chocolate have been mixed, with one reviewer saying “their products are DELICIOUS,” while another from chocolate review site Chocalatier lamenting “it doesn’t taste like traditional chocolate to me, nor is it something I’d crave” and “texturally, it’s not quite there yet either.”

In the end, it may not matter because unfortunately for those looking to load up their kid’s basket with this environmentally friendly egg, the WEGG currently is not for sale. Instead, the company says it will be awarded to an Instagram follower at random via a contest running this week.

Betterland Foods Launches Better-For-You Chocolate Using Perfect Day’s Animal-Free Whey Protein

Move over Hershey and Mars, WOO is coming, and it’s fixing to make a sweet, healthy impact on the candy category.

betterland foods, a Napa-based company that recently introduced its cow-free milk, is taking the alternative whey protein it created to take on the alternative dairy market and now aiming at making noise in the candy space with WOO. This better-for-you candy bar competes with the big names on taste but without guilt.

“Candy has not been disrupted since 1934,” company CEO Lizanne Falsetto said in an interview with The Spoon. “Keep in mind that Hershey and Mars can buy up the shelf space, but they still can’t get to the core of what we believe people want today. They want to have a decadent treat that’s better for them and better for the planet.”

WOO (as in Moo or Whoo) is now available direct to consumers before being launched in retail. WOO’s layered chocolate bar, built using Perfect Day’s whey protein, contains organic chocolate, caramel, peanuts, and cow-free nougat. Falsetto quickly points out the dramatic difference between WOO and its entrenched competitors.

Falsetto explains that most candy bars on the market have 28 grams of sugar, while WOO had nine. The betterland’s bar has six grams of fiber compared to one in most others and eight grams of protein versus four.

Falsetto and her partner, company president Bill Pikar come to the “healthy” food space with a significant win under their belts. Falsetto is the founder and former CEO of Think! A pioneering protein bar that she developed in her kitchen. The company was sold in late 2015, after which Falsetto began working with women leaders in her Holistic Success Network.

Always keeping an eye on the alternative protein space, Falsetto and Pikar were ready to jump at the chance at another chance to (as she puts it) “blow up a category.” The Perfect Day folks reached out to the former nutrition bar creator and suggested a new type of bar using cow-free whey. Not one to focus on their “been-there, done-that” space, the betterland’s team suggested they produce a “better for you” candy bar.

“We decided the candy category would need a disruptive product, and that’s why candy was the choice.” Falsetto commented. She also jokes that betterland’s newest product has a deja-vu experience. “Interestingly enough, we were making nutrition bars on candy equipment in 1995, and now, in reverse, we are now making candy on nutrition bar equipment.”

Having gone through retail product placement with THINK!, Falsetto has developed a clear marketing strategy. Initially, protein bars, she says, didn’t have a set home in a retail store, and she sees the same route for WOO. A “dual placement” strategy, where the vegan-friendly candy bar sits with its category competitors and at the cash wrap for impulse purchases.

WOO’s initial direct-to-consumer campaign aims to create consumer familiarity and tap into social media awareness. When betterland approaches Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods of the world, the company will be in a better position for retail acceptance.

Falsetto’s take on marketing speaks to her success at finding and fulfilling a market need: I would say when it comes to a market campaign., all we want to put the food into people’s mouths, and we want them to eat it alongside a Snickers bar—like the Pepsi Challenge.”

Without going into detail, likely, we’ve not heard the last of betterland’s relationship with Perfect Day and its alternative whey. “Lizanne’s experience as a protein innovator and retail disruptor made her our first choice to launch candy made kinder and greener with Perfect Day’s whey protein,” said Ryan Pandya, co-founder, and CEO of Perfect Day. “Lizanne has already proven what she can do with betterland milk, and we are thrilled to now bring animal-free layered chocolate candy to consumers who have been excitedly awaiting more products made with Perfect Day protein.”

WOO candy bars will retail for $2.69 and are available at woobars.com

Jelly Belly Creator Launches (and Sells Out of) CBD-Infused Jelly Beans

Ever since I blindly got a vomit-flavored jelly bean from the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans box, I’ve been pretty wary of the candy.

But that might be about to change. The creator of Jelly Belly, David Klein, has launched a line of jelly beans infused with cannabidiol (CBD), the non-hallucinogenic compound in cannabis (h/t USA Today). The beans come in 38 flavors including many Jelly Belly-inspired favorites, like my personal ride-or-die roasted marshmallow. There are also sour and sugar-free options, and each bean has 10 mg of CBD.

Kelin’s company, Spectrum Confections, sells the jellies in bulk: each order includes a whopping 800 beans, so it’s probably not for the casual candy or CBD lover, unless you’re stocking up for a 4/20-slash-Easter party for the books.

Even if you are, you’re out of luck. All beans are already out of stock, but Spectrum Confections notes on their website that they are still taking orders over phone and email.

Putting CBD into jelly beans is a pretty sweet idea (sorry). Demand for the non-hallucinogenic cannabinoid, which some herald for its healing and relaxation properties, is high.

However, CBD’s rise is somewhat hampered by the fact that the FDA still considers it to be an illegal food ingredient, meaning it’s technically not allowed to be sold in food or drinks. That hasn’t stopped companies from making and selling everything from CBD-infused chocolates to sodas. However, recently New York City health inspectors cracked down on local shops selling food products with cannabidiol, so really it’s just unclear what exactly is allowed and what’s not in the CBD edibles space.

Clearly that lack of clarity isn’t stopping Klein, or his jelly bean-loving customers.

Big Appliance Makers Start Cooking With Camera-Enabled Smart Ovens

When June launched its smart oven a couple years ago, the idea of having a camera inside to intelligently determine cooking parameters was pretty darn novel.

And ok sure, while having a CTO like Nikhil Bhogal – one of the chief contributors to much of the iPhone’s early imaging innovation – on the founder team made it all make sense in retrospect, I would still argue that an oven with machine vision was pretty far-fetched.

Now however, fast forward a couple of years and June is no longer the only game in town when it comes to machine-vision enabled consumer ovens. In fact, some of the kitchen’s bigger players are jumping on board with the idea of a camera-powered cooking cavity.

One company which recently joined June with its own camera-enabled oven was Hoover, a division of Italy’s Candy. The Vision, which Hoover announced last fall, has a built-in camera within the oven cavity as well as a touch display on the front which allows users to use apps like Spotify and view cooking centric content such as recipes and video-guided cooking instructions.

You can see the £1,499 appliance in action in a demo reel below:

And now, Electrolux is joining the camera-enabled oven party. Last month, Europe’s biggest appliance manufacturer announced a new oven with a camera inside, the CombiSteam Pro Smart. The oven, which has built-in sous vide capabilities, will first be available in Sweden and Norway.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that Electrolux has announced a camera-enabled oven. The company first floated the concept in 2014 and made an announcement about the AEG ProCombi Plus at IFA 2015, but from what I can tell this first product never shipped.

And while there’s been other crazy ideas like a camera-enabled air fryer (thanks Gourmia) over the past couple of years, the only company to really make a go of camera-powered consumer cooking is June.

Now, that’s about to change as big appliance makers look to leverage cameras to help the consumer do more in the kitchen.

Hole-y Sweet Tooth! Nestlé Restructures Sugar to Use Less of it

“Sugar monster” is what we call my son after he’s had too much candy or cake at a birthday party and is all wound up. Yes, I know sugar doesn’t actually make kids hyper, but the term is a way of warning him off overindulging his sweet tooth.

“Eat any more and you’ll turn into a sugar monster,” we’ll say, totally sounding like parents.

But a new technology from Nestlé could automatically give him less sugar when he’s enjoying treats. The company introduced the Milkybar Wowsome this week, which has 30 percent less sugar than comparable bars. Don’t panic, candy lovers! The Wowsome, Nestlé promises, will still taste just as good as the classic Milkybars.

To achieve this wizardry, Nestlé scientists actually restructure the sugar when making the new Wowsomes. Genius Kitchen has a great explainer, likening it to cotton candy:

“Sugar, powdered milk and water are sprayed into hot air, which causes the particles to dry out and stabilize while filled with microscopic holes. This sugar structure causes the sugar to dissolve more quickly upon contact with liquid (in this case, on your tongue). The sugar tastes just as sweet, but since it’s porous, there’s less of it.”

SWEET!

Nestlé said that it will expand the use of this technique to more children’s chocolate brands.

This move is part of a larger global trend of companies looking to reduce the sugar they serve, as consumers become more conscious of what they put in their bodies and lawmakers flex legal muscles to reduce sugar consumption. In the U.S. Pepsi is fighting the soda sales slump with its Drinkfinity line of flavored water. Down under in Australia, Nutrition Innovation has developed Nucane, a “healthier” sugar made by altering the refining process. And Bayn Europe created SugarReduced, an online community and platform that provides tools to help food and beverage producers reduce and replace sugar in their products.

Sadly, Europe is where you need to be if you want to try out the new Milkybar Wowsome. The restructured sugar bar will hit store shelves in the U.K. and Ireland over the next few weeks.

Happily, however, I will definitely seek out and purchase this miracle of modern science while attending our Smart Kitchen Summit Europe in Dublin, Ireland June 11 – 12. Come say hi to me at the show and I’ll share one with you. (No sugar monsters allowed.)

This Startup Just Figured Out How to Create the Perfect Vegan Gummy Bear

For hundreds of years, humans have used gelatin to create consumer goods: as a cooking agent, in medicines and cosmetics, and as an essential element of candies like marshmallow and gummy bears.

Trouble is, making gelatin basically involves dropping the skin, bone, and connective tissue of animals into acid or alkaline baths—a process that doesn’t exactly line up with today’s rising standards for cleaner eating.

But don’t give up on those Haribo frog candies yet. Geltor is currently at work engineering a solution for those with a sweet tooth who prefer not to eat acid-dipped horse bones. The company programs microbes so they produce produce collagen—from which gelatin is made—via a fermentation process, leaving out the animal parts altogether.

Geltor grows the microbes in large fermentation tanks in its San Leandro, Calif. facility. The microbes, which naturally produce protein, are given instructions in the form of DNA sequences to create the collagen.

“Recombinant proteins are critical to the post-animal economy,” Geltor CEO and founder Alex Lorestani said in an interview last year. “They are also difficult and expensive to manufacture.” Lorestani believes his company’s platform can help build the necessary proteins for animal-free gelatin at a lower cost than was previously possible. Food manufacturers might then be able to seriously consider gelatin alternatives in their foods that can mimic the form and consistency of the real thing without having to include animal parts in the process.

The gelatin market is right now close to $3 billion. At the same time, however, there’s rising demand for alternative forms of gelatin that don’t rely on animal proteins to produce. It’s not just vegans causing this demand. Those with religious restrictions around food have to steer clear of some gelatins (namely, pork-derived gelatin, which is neither halal nor kosher). And there are concerns about animal diseases making their way into gelatin-based candies (BSE, for example).

While there are some substitutes already available on the market—pectin, agar, guar gum—anyone who’s ever tasted a “vegan gummy bear” knows it’s notoriously difficult to replicate the real deal.

Geltor’s platform addresses this very issue. The big question is whether it can do so at scale.

Lorestani and Co. say they are about five years from producing their gelatin in commercial-sized quantities for food industry buyers, though they reportedly already have a long wait list of potential buyers. The company also has to consider regulatory issues—namely, proving their product is a safe alternative.

Right now there’s not much in the way of competition. That will undoubtedly change over the next five years, since it’s more than just the candy makers need gelatin to make their products. Once the pharmaceutical and personal care companies get onboard, expect to hear lots of noise coming from this corner of the biotech world.

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