Leftovers: Graza olive oil goes mini | Startup snack turns pasta into puffs

Graza gets a taste of kids’ nutrition

Olive oil brand Graza is partnering with kids and baby food seller Little Spoon to unveil a line of healthier meals for children.

The limited-edition Little Drizzle collection features Graza olive oil added into pre-made kids meals. It pairs unique, international flavors with nourishing seasonal ingredients tailored to children’s palates, the companies said.

The collection has two offerings. The first is Savory Summer Harvest Babyblend with zucchini, sweet potato, apple and roasted onion, an then enhanced with a drizzle of Graza’s olive oil. The second offering from Little Spoon and Graza is a Mediterranean Style Chicken Bravos Biteable that features chicken in a tomato sauce with herby white beans, a sweet potato hash and Graza’s signature ‘Drizzle’ product.

The goal is to introduce high-quality, healthy-fat ingredients during critical stages of development.

“Healthy fats, like olive oil, are macronutrient powerhouses and can be particularly important for baby and toddler’s development,” Jennifer Friedman, a Little Spoon advisor and pediatric dietitian, said in a statement.

The meals will be available exclusively on Little Spoon’s website.

Graza’s olive oils have taken the industry by storm with the help of social media touting its convenient and unique packaging. In May, the trendy company pushed its packaging envelope even further by introducing refill containers in what look like beer or soda cans. The new packaging allows customers to refill their Graza Squeeze Bottles. 

— Elizabeth Flood

Pasta goes portable in snackable puffs

There’s plenty of evidence showing that Americans are snacking more. One new brand aims to translate the experience of eating pasta into the snack aisle.

Tantos is a puffed pasta chip inspired by classic Italian-American cuisine. The chips are made with flour and water, fried in oil and seasoned with Italian spices, according to the brand. It eschews wheat flour alternatives to hew closer to real pasta ingredients. The snacks arrive in four varieties inspired by pasta dishes: Classico, Pesto, Marinara and Cacio e Pepe.

The product comes from celebrity chef Joe Sasto. He credited the idea to his Italian heritage.

“When I first created Tantos, it was a bit of a happy accident. I’ve spent several years perfecting each flavorful recipe to represent the classic pasta dishes my mother taught me how to make, just in a new and modern way,” Sasto said.

The chips are available on the brand’s website, Amazon and at select grocery stores.

While Tantos will stand out on grocery store shelves, pasta chips are not a new invention. Various influencers on TikTok have experimented with cooking pasta in an air fryer in recent years, promoting them as a healthier alternative to higher-calorie potato chips.

Snacking brands have found success with the puffed snack format, from Frito-Lay’s Cheetos Puffs to Hershey’s Pirate’s Booty. Kellanova debuted Cheez-It Puff’d in 2022, the first time the cracker appeared in an airy snack. In October, the company will bring its Pringles brand into a new format with Pringles Mingles, a puffed variety of the snack.

— Chris Casey

Birch Benders flips for ube pancakes

Pancakes have long been known for their golden color. Birch Benders is flipping that long-standing tradition upside down.

The pancake and waffle mix brand is introducing Birch Benders Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix. They include purple yams, known as ube in the Philippines, which makes vibrant purple pancakes and waffles with a uniquely sweet flavor. They are available in Whole Foods, Sprouts and online at BirchBenders. 

“We are thrilled to bring our Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix to breakfast tables across the country,” Dan Anglemyer, chief operating officer, with parent company Hometown Food. “This innovative addition to our product lineup not only offers a delightful burst of color and flavor but also caters to the growing demand for gluten-free breakfast options.”

Hometown purchased Birch Benders from Sovos Brands, now part of Campbell Soup, in 2023. 

Before then, Birch Benders was struggling following the loss of a major customer, additional competition in the slowing keto diet space where it is popular and a larger-than-expected decline in waffle and pancake consumption following the COVID-19 boom.