Leftovers: McCormick & Co.’s Old Bay spices up bagel chips | Once Upon A Farm bites into snack bar category

East meets west with Old Bay bagel chips

A fan favorite seafood seasoning from Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay has secured its latest catch, with the help of a unique snack maker from the opposite coast.

CaliBagels, a new brand of bagel chips hailing from San Diego, announced its first collaborative product, Old Bay Bagel Chips. The snack features Old Bay seasoning, a zesty blend of 18 herbs and spices including black pepper, celery salt, red pepper flakes and paprika.

In the press release, CaliBagels founder Phil Gorman said the idea to pair the two products came when he tried his chips with his friend’s blue crab dip.

“Bringing the fanaticism around the iconic seafood seasoning brand to snackers around the country is incredibly exciting for our team,” Gorman said in a statement.

The chips are sold exclusively in a four pack on CaliBagels’ website. As a new brand in the bagel chips category, CaliBagels will compete with brands like Stacy’s in selling a crunchy snack deriving from the doughy breakfast food.

Old Bay, which was purchased by seasonings giant McCormick in 1990, has grown substantially from a regional favorite to a nationwide success. That has allowed the ingredient to appear in other CPG products in recent years — namely a flavor of Campbell Soup’s Goldfish crackers, first launched for a limited time in 2022 and brought back to shelves this year, and a hot sauce which debuted in 2020.

—Chris Casey

Once Upon a Farm gets a growth spurt 

The baby nutrition brand is expanding its product line with the debut of Soft Baked bars for Kids. With ingredients like whole fruits and vegetables, whole grain oats and no added sugar, the company is aiming to pack both nutrition and convenience into the on-the-go snack. 

The bars come in four flavors: apple and oat, chocolate oat, mixed berry and banana chocolate chip. 

“The baked bars taste like they came fresh out of the oven and are packed with whole grain oats, fruit, veggies, and fats like coconut oil to fuel your whole family throughout the day,” said Cassandra Curtis, founder and chief innovation officer at Once Upon a Farm in a statement. 

Curtis added that the bars can also be crumbled over ice cream, coffee or sandwiched in between chocolate and peanut butter. 

The introduction of the bars are an expansion of Once Upon a Farm’s already existing pantry staple portfolio. The company also offers organic unsweetened coconut puffs in flavors like Apple and Sweet Potato, Strawberry and Sweet Potato, and Mango and Carrot. 

The company’s Tractor Wheel Toddler Bars come in flavors such as Apple and Sweet Potato, Strawberry and Pumpkin and Banana, Pumpkin and Cauliflower.

The rise of on-the-go lifestyles for consumers has resulted in a need for kids’ nutrition solutions that are easy to grab and consume.

Demand for kids’ snacks is set to reach US$ 22 billion in 2024 and is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% through 2034, according to data from Fact.Mr. 

Once Upon a Farm’s new kids bars will be available exclusively at Kroger stores nationwide until August. 

—Elizabeth Flood

Sesame sauce maker Seed + Mill finds its sweet tooth

A brand that uses sesame in its sauce products is taking the ingredient into an unlikely meal: dessert.

Seed + Mil is launching Chocolate Sesame Sauce, a sweeter alternative to its flagship product Tahini, a creamy sesame butter. It is designed to be spread on toast, poured on ice cream or waffles, or served with fruit, according to the brand.

“I’ve been combining chocolate and tahini in my own kitchen for years, and our community has been asking for this flavor combination from us since we launched our brand nearly 8 years ago,” said Rachel Simmons, the company’s founder, in a statement.

Seed + Mill debuted in 2016 at New York City’s Chelsea Market food hall. Tahini, made with sesame, can be used for cooking, baking and as a condiment, the company said. The sesame seeds it uses are sourced from Ethiopia. It also sells a Spicy Tahini product.

The use of sesame, a staple of Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, in Western food products has increased in recent years as global flavors become more omnipresent on menus and in cookbook recipes. Sesame contains 1.5 grams of protein per tablespoon, along with calcium, iron and minerals, according to USDA.

Some products that have gained niche popularity in recent years include sesame milk and sesame-based salad dressings. The market for sesame seeds is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.6% by 2029, worth $8.7 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence.

—Chris Casey