Leftovers: Kraft capitalizes on aioli craze | General Mills brings Old El Paso into soups, cornbread

Kraft gets saucy with new restaurant-style aioli offerings

Kraft Heinz is bringing the growing popularity of aiolis to the home menu.

The food products giant is adding five aiolis and sauces to its portfolio with its new Creamy Sauces line. It includes Smoky Hickory Bacon Flavored Aioli, Chipotle Aioli, Garlic Aioli, Burger Aioli and Buffalo Style Mayonnaise Dressing. Aiolis have surged in popularity in the restaurant and culinary world, with 77% of consumers expressing interest in trying new flavors, the company said.

“KRAFT Sauces aims to show the world that you don’t have to be a professional chef to make delicious food that feels good,” Kaitlin Roe, Kraft’s brand director, said in a statement. “With our new Creamy Sauces line, alongside our beloved existing offerings, KRAFT Sauces brings restaurant-quality depth, tang, and spice right to the refrigerator – empowering fans to be more adventurous in the kitchen.”

Kraft Heinz promotes the sauces as being ideal for everything from dunking French fries and onion rings to spreading on sandwiches.

Creamy Sauces marks the first innovation line to launch under the new Kraft Sauces rebrand, which consolidates all sauces, spreads, and salad dressings under one family for the first time. It also coincides with the first logo change in a decade for Kraft Sauces, along with redesigned packaging.

Kraft Heinz said a key to the rebrand, and the launch of the new sauces line, comes as consumers look for ways to enhance flavor beyond the traditional salad dressing or spread.

As consumers continue to spend a lot of time cooking at home – either because they enjoy it or as a way to save money — bringing complex restaurant-style offerings like Kraft Sauces to the kitchen will continue to resonate.

Kraft Heinz has been aggressively launching new products in recent months, targeting a large part of its portfolio, as it aims to generate $2 billion in incremental net sales by 2027. 

The company, which posted $26 billion in revenue last year, has introduced major additions to Crystal Light for the first time in more than 10 years, debuted plant-based meats with Oscar Mayer hotdogs and sausages as part of its NotCo partnership and released new Kraft Singles flavors for the first time in nearly a decade.

— Christopher Doering

General Mills expands Old El Paso with soup, cornbread

With Mexican food offerings usurping Italian in popularity for the first time, familiar brands in the category are expanding their product lines, including one Tex-Mex brand known for its taco kits.

General Mills announced a line of Old El Paso soups in five varieties — Chipotle Corn Chowder, Chicken Cheese Enchilada, Chicken Tortilla, Mexican-Style Chicken & Rice and Jalapeño Chicken Noodle. The first four offerings are gluten-free, according to the brand.

To accompany the soups, the company is also broadening the Old El Paso brand into cornbread, in Southwest and Cinnamon Churro varieties. The latter sweet offering came about after the brand collaborated with Kellogg on Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dessert Taco Shells — which it debuted in February — “flew off the shelves,” according to a statement from the brand. The cornbread mixes only require water and an egg to cook, according to the company.

The new offerings are available at Walmart.

Old El Paso is well-known to consumers for its taco shells, tortillas and dinner kits. By entering new categories, the brand aims to maintain its status as a household name brand in the Mexican foods category. The products will compete with other popular Mexican-themed soups, including chicken tortilla soup offerings from General Mills’ biggest soup brand Progresso, along with Campbell’s.

The Mexican food market is skyrocketing in popularity, projected to be worth $113 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% by 2026, according to data from Technavio.

— Chris Casey

Ramen takes a bite of everything bagel flavor

Cup Noodles, the ramen brand from Nissin Food Group, is introducing a new way to experience the staple flavors of many consumers’ Saturday mornings. 

The limited edition Everything Bagel Cream Cheese flavor will join the brand’s breakfast club next week exclusively at Walmart.

The newest offering puts a spin on the classic bagel combination by dawning it to a new carb. The ready-to-eat dish combines ramen with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, dried onion and caraway seeds. It comes with a rich cream-cheese flavored sauce and can be prepared in just four minutes by microwaving and then letting it stand for one more minute.

Unlike the original Cup Noodles, the product is saucy, not soup-based, the company said.