SAN FERNANDO, California - America has an obsession with cream cheese. From countless recipes shared on Pinterest to the popular Twitter #foodporn hashtag commonly linked to #creamcheese, there is no doubt that Americans love their schmear. Grocery sales reflect these sentiments. A 2009-2011 Mintel study of US retail sales shows that cream cheese spread is the fastest-growing segment with 8.5 percent growth.[1]
However, America¹s growing waistline has driven consumers to choose healthier alternatives to comfort food favorites. The Wall Street Journal coined Œpermissible indulgence¹ as the big food industry buzzword for 2014.[2] Popular examples of this phenomenon include gluten-free, Greek yogurt, kale chips, and quinoa cookies.
Keeping up with the demand and offering a healthy solution for cream cheese lovers with the added benefit of probiotics, Blue Isle¹s Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads (BlueIsleSpread.com) is the latest innovation to hit the dairy aisle this summer. Samplings will be available atBooth #566 during the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City.
Blue Isle¹s Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads offer nutritional balance and taste. Today¹s cream cheese category is limited in both selection and brands and the goal of Blue Isle¹s Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads is to raise the bar in the retail cream cheese category with superior flavors, functionality and nutrition.
Blue Isle Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads are made from the healthy goodness of yogurt, including live cultures, probiotics, and calcium but with no added sugar. With only 60 calories and 6g of fat per 2 tbsp serving, Blue Isle is nearly 40% fewer calories and total fat than the leading cream cheese. All natural and kosher have both been reported as important factors in consumers¹ purchase choices, and Blue Isle is both natural andOU Kosher certified.[3]
While the health benefits of Blue Isle are clear, the delicious flavor and mouth-watering texture are the real factors for this category innovation. Blue Isle is the over-achieving cousin to traditional cream cheese. Creamy, rich, and comforting, Blue Isle is a product that needs to be experienced. The spreads can be used as an alternative to cream cheese spread, a dip, in cooking, or as an exotic ³good for you² treat.
Blue Isle is available in the following flavors:
Original
Honey
Blueberry
French Onion
Spicy Vegetable
Blue Isle will be available soon in the following US stores, Harmon¹s, Mollie Stone¹s, Central Market, Fiesta Mart, The Fresh Market, New Seasons, H-E-B, Lucky, Fred Meyer, QFC, at natural food stores and better supermarkets nationwide. Suggested retail price is $3.29 for an 8 oz. tub.
Grocery trends reflect the major push to change the American diet, which became a top priority for government agencies when national obesity rates hit epidemic proportions and heart disease surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death.[4] Healthy food segments such as yogurt and natural cheese are booming.[5] American consumers have cultivated a passion for yogurt in its many incarnations, from spoon-able Greek yogurt to healthy drinkable snacks, and frozen probiotics for kids. ³Better-for-you² yogurt sales are forecasted to reach $9.4 billion by 2017.[6]
³We use hand-crafted traditional methods of blending, aging, and fermenting all of our probiotic rich yogurt spreads,² states
Mr. Rostom Baghdassarian, COO for Karoun Dairies. ³This year, we are delighted to introduce Blue Isle Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads, as we¹ve seen a major demand for healthier, Mediterranean-style spreads. Blue Isle is a fresh, tasty, and health conscious alternative to traditional cream cheeses.²
Blue Isle is distributed by Karoun Dairies, Inc. (KarounCheese.com), a second-generation family business with multiple awards for excellence in the cheese and dairy industry. Accolades include World Cheese Awards, World Championship Cheese medals, U.S. Championships, American Cheese Society medals, and California State Fair awards to name a few.[7] Karoun produces some of California¹s finest specialty cheeses; using century-old and handmade methods. All 130+ SKUs are made from ultra-premium ingredients, including premium milk from cows that are free of artificial hormones, BGH/rBST, and are Real California Milk certified.
Visit booth #566 at the Summer Fancy Food Show June 29th July 1st at the Jacob Javits Center, where Karoun Dairies will showcase many delectable cheeses and yogurts as well as offer samplings of Blue Isle¹s brand new smooth and creamy Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads.
1 http://www.specialtyfood.com/news-trends/
featured-articles/article/research-spotlight-cheese-sales-nocurdling-
sight/
2http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/
SB10001424052702304713704579093522665924440
3 http://www.specialtyfood.com/news-trends/
featured-articles/article/research-spotlight-cheese-sales-nocurdling-sight/
4 2010 U.S. census data
5 2014 State of the Industry Almanac via Grocery Headquarters – In 2013 Natural Cheese was sixth most
popular category, up 2.5% with $8,193,600,000 in sales; the tenth largest category by sales was yogurt with
$4,970,900,000.
6 http://www.specialtyfood.com/news-trends/
featured-articles/article/new-yogurt-culture/
7 https://www.karouncheese.com/index/awards
Source: Karoun Dairies