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the Whole Grains Council’s whole grain icon located on the front of packaging. The snack manufacturer also promotes its products as all natural. “Offering 100% natural products is not something we jumped on; it was at our core when we started,” Mr. Hajarnavis said. “We spend the time to source our 100% natural ingredients.” According to SymphonyIRI sales data, Popcorn, Indiana has experienced fairly rapid growth in the past few years. This past year, sales of its RTE popcorn products increased 26.3%, which was actually down from the 28.5% increase reported the previous year. Popcorn, Indiana, is the No. 2 brand behind Smartfood from Frito-Lay North America, Plano, TX, which recently launched three products under its new Smartfood Selects brand. Following a trend that has seen many of Frito-Lay’s other all-natural snack see significant sales gains over the past couple years, Smartfood Selects are made with all-natural ingredients. To help busy consumers make informed choices, each package features nutrition icons on the front of the package that highlight calories per serving as well as saturated fat, sodium and sugar content. Smartfood Selects products can be found in

the “natural” aisle of most grocery stores. The new Smartfood Selects popcorn varieties include Parmesan Herb, Buffalo Cheddar and Cinnamon Brown Sugar. Cinnamon Caramel Popcorn from Gaslamp Popcorn Co., which was acquired by Rudolph Foods Co., Inc., Lima, OH, this past December, has a “loyal following” in Southern California, according to Mark Singleton, Rudolph Foods’ vice-president of marketing. Rudolph Foods had been looking at the RTE popcorn category for a while, he said, noting the category’s growth trends in recent years. Founded in 1998 and named after the historic Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, CA, Gaslamp Popcorn is all-natural and also available in Kettle Corn and White Cheddar varieties. During the past six years, Mr. Singleton said, the sweet and salty combination of kettle corn has really helped to boost this category. Because kettle corn doesn’t have as much sugar as caramel corn, it allows for “guilt-free snacking,” he added. Popcorn manufacturers hope new and exotic flavors continue to energize the RTE popcorn category and push consumers to purchase RTE popcorn for home snacking occasions. — Shane Whitaker

MICROWAVE POPCORN

A New Pop Culture
In the world of microwaveable popcorn, new packaging formats remain hot, and they’re driving the category’s growth, according to Dan Skinner, manager of public relations and social media, ConAgra Foods, Inc., Omaha, NE. Specifically, the company’s Orville Redenbacher Pop Up Bowls are one of the more innovative developments since the creation of the microwave that eventually made hot popcorn a convenient snack. “The Pop Up Bowl that rolled out last year was extremely wellreceived, and we’re looking to expand that concept across the line,” Mr. Skinner explained. “We’re looking for opportunities for the expansion of Pop Up Bowls to bring that concept into a wider piece of the business because it was so popular.” The bag that pops up into a bowl is just one of many ways ConAgra relies on packaging to energize sales and call attention to a category that had been a bit quiet in recent years. The company also rolled out single– serving flavor packs that come in White Cheddar, Sea Salt and Vinegar, and Extra Cheese. The flavor packs come with separate seasoning that allows consumers to add as much cheese or flavoring as they want to match their taste preferences. “It gives people the opportunity to try different flavors and customize their eating experiences,” Mr. Skinner said. ConAgra also offers Act II microwaveable popcorn, which caters to people who are a little more value-conscious than

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May 2012

Snack World

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Snack World - May 2012

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