Oscar Mayer Puts Clean-Label Snacking in the Cool Case
Nitrate-free meat and cheese snacks are a c-store exclusive.
Jun 18, 2019
This article is brought to you by The Kraft Heinz Company.
CHICAGO—Today, time-crunched consumers want quality snacks and bridge meals that are easy to prepare and eat. But they also demand clean-label products with a short list of ingredients that they can pronounce. To meet those needs for convenience and transparency, Oscar Mayer has introduced a high-protein snack that is currently available only to convenience retailers.
“We’ve just rolled out Oscar Mayer Natural Meat & Cheese Snack Sticks, and it’s the first time the brand has combined meat and cheese together in a single package,” said Allie Phillips, head of sales C-Store/Drug, The Kraft Heinz Company. “This is an ideal snacking solution for consumers who want a pure-protein product that’s free of hormones, nitrates and artificial ingredients. Most importantly, they taste great.”
Each refrigerated package of Meat & Cheese Snack Sticks includes three meat sticks and three portions of cheese in two separate flavor combos. The Uncured Hard Salami Monterey Jack Cheese contains 8 grams of protein per package, while the Cracked Black Pepper Uncured Hard Salami with White Cheddar Cheese provides 9 grams.
The Sticks are sold in the refrigerated case and complement the manufacturer’s existing meal combo offerings, including P3, Cracker Barrel snacking cheese, Oscar Mayer Natural Plates and Lunchables, the kid-focused meal in a package. Packaged meal combos have been a growing trend since Lunchables were first launched in 1988, and today the meal combo offering is a $165 million category in convenience stores alone.
“Category growth trends and consumer demand demonstrate an opportunity for the Oscar Mayer Natural Meat and Cheese Snack Sticks with segments that include women, millennials, Hispanic and health-conscious consumers,” said Phillips. “When those shoppers come to a convenience store for a single product, they often purchase additional items, such as bottled water, candy, gum or a fountain drink.”
Although they were only introduced in April, the Snack Sticks are already available in many 7-Eleven stores. “We’re seeing positive sales results from the initial roll out,” she said. “The Oscar Mayer Natural brand is a source of strength in the area of meat snacking and consumers associate it with quality.”
This is the first installment of a two-part series on protein snacks. Look for more info in the June 25 edition of the NACS Daily.
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