A plumped-up presence for fat-free - Food Merchandising

Discount Store News, April 3, 1995 by Pete Hisey

Americans may be putting on more and more weight, but at the same time they're spending more and more money on low-fat, sugar-free products. And retailers are increasingly likely to offer dietetic products side by side with all-the-fat, all-the-sugar versions.

At the AWMA (Candy) show in New Orleans in February, healthier snack and candy products were almost as prevalent as traditional ones. From turkey jerkies to sugarless gourmet chocolates, virtually every snack category was covered.

Oberto Sausage, for instance, introduced a line of flavored turkey jerkies, which it said will appeal strongly to both women and the health conscious (although, due to its less-chewy texture, probably not to existing jerky fans). Turkey, a company spokesman noted, "really sucks up flavor compared to beef," so the opportunity also exists with this low-fat product to appeal to consumers who want stronger taste.

Keebler has introduced a wide-range line of healthier snacks, both in cookies and salted snacks. Fat-free Elfin Delights are joined by Munch 'ems, Southwestern crunchy snacks in Salsa and Chili 'n Cheese flavors that deliver one-third less fat than traditional tortilla chips.

Nabisco Brands introduced a new line of reduced-fat honey-roasted peanuts, cashews and low-fat Cheez Balls and Cheez Curls, along with lower-fat Grandstand ballpark-style peanuts.

One of the most interesting new arrivals was a line of Golden Farm sugar-free candies, including chocolate mints, seven kinds of candy bars, caramels, toffee, fruit chews and taffy. All use a hydrogenated starch called hydrolysate for sweetening, which produces a candy virtually indistinguishable from the original, with little or no metallic aftertaste typical of older dietetic candies.

According to a spokeswoman for Woodland Sales, Golden Farm's distributor, marketing of sugar-free products goes far beyond the obvious diet market. "Sugar-free products appeal to parents who want their kids to eat less sugar, to diabetics, to people trying to give up smoking, to health-conscious individuals and to recovering alcoholics," she noted.

Woodland is upgrading Golden Farm's packaging to fit in better with in-line candy departments (as Fudge Farm, the product line was primarily marketed through pharmacies with sugar-free sections, and was packaged primarily in plain cellophane bags), including new gift packs of assorted chocolates, the company's version of the venerable Turtle in a foil box and decorative tins for large sizes.

Sather, a dominant supplier of low-cost snacks to the mass market, has introduced its first line of sugar-free products, including bagged hard candies and flavored wafers. Lincoln Snacks, Stamford, Conn., introduced a new line of non-fat caramel-coated popcorn.

F&F Laboratories, Chicago, introduced Fox sugar-free mint wafers, double chocolate wafers and chocolate creme wafers.

The sugar-free wafer market seems to be particularly strong. Heritage Wafers' Golden Batch product, for instance, has been given prime real estate in the bakery department of Southeastern grocery superstore chain Publix. According to a company spokesman, the wafer is now the No. 1 product in the bakery department, in part, because of its roadblock location and, perhaps, because shoppers pick up a pack to atone for the box of eclairs they just purchased. "We're really pushing the wafers as a mainstream product," aid. "They should be treated just like Diet Coke; more and more retailers are moving sugar-free products in line, and mass merchants are starting to do the same." Wal-Mart, he noted, just added the line and is doing well with it.