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Mintel’s most innovative food and drink of 2024: Part II – Bakery, dairy, ready meals, and more

The Mintel Most Innovative Food and Drink 2024 showcase features eleven novel products that stand out as particularly disruptive and compelling. In part II of this roundup, we explore the most innovative bakery, dairy, meals and meal components, pet food, and sides and sauces.

The Mintel showcase – The Most Innovative Food and Drink 2024 –features 11 novel products launched in 2023 and available in March 2024 that stand out as particularly disruptive and compelling.

Bakery: Pulmuone soft tofu tortilla

Pulmuone Soft Tofu Tortilla from South Korea is Mintel’s most innovative bakery product of 2024. The stand-out feature of the product, which is on shelves in Korean supermarkets for €2.43 in a pack size of 225 g, replaces some of the refined carbohydrates found in flour with the addition of soft tofu – making up 16% of the tortilla and boosting its appeal among health-conscious consumers.

“Pulmuone has shown how tortillas can engage with a wider, carb-conscious, protein-hungry audience by incorporating tofu into the dough. The tofu also makes the tortilla a more permissibly nutritious component of a main meal,” said Alex Beckett, director of Mintel Food & Drink Insights.

Dairy: Kraft Uochee spicy tuna-flavour sliced cheese

This flavour-packed cheese from Morinaga Milk Industry in Japan is designed as the perfect product to pair with beer. The rare combination of spicy tuna and cheese is available in Japan for €1.40. According to Kana Shinati, senior analyst at Mintel Food & Drink Insights, “[the] product ventures into new territory by incorporating tuna into cheese, masterfully overcoming challenges such as fishy odours and texture”.

The innovative cheese stood out in the dairy category both for its novel flavour and because of its sophisticated packaging. The 60-gram packs convey information about the size of each slice and also convert into a compact stand.

Meals and Meal Components: Home Bake 425°/:30 southwest style chipotle chicken

Mintel spotlights Kraft Heinz’s home bake product in the ‘meals and meal components’ category. The quick-fix prepared meal range Home Bake 425°/:30 is a complete concept branded to ‘reimagine family dinner’. By combining the 15 different entrées, veggie, and side dishes, consumers can create more than 500 different combinations. Mintel picked the southwest style chipotle main from the line-up; other mains options include chicken parmesan and pulled pork with bbq sauce, and sides include homestyle mac & cheese, loaded scalloped potatoes, and creamy tomato Tuscan-style pasta.

“The concept means goodbye to multiple kitchen timers and the threat of over- or undercooked dishes and hello to that feeling of stress-free satisfaction that meal preparation can bring,” says Alex Beckett, director of Mintel Food & Drink Insights about the “dinnertime solution” from Kraft Heinz. American shoppers can pick up the 561g product for $10.49/ €9.80.

Pet Food: The Happy Mutt Company doggie dippers with carob flavoured peanut butter and doggie biscuits

Pet food has emerged as one of the more innovative spaces in the industry – with ‘humanisation’ as the current predominant trend driving new ideas. Ingredients Network has covered the development since 2022, when a glut of multinational food manufacturers entering the category helped blur the lines between human and pet food.

The Happy Mutt Company takes the trend to the next level, with its dipping biscuits that it claims are “a world-first interactive dog treat”. Aside from the unique format, the dippers also claim to be a source of healthy nutrients – including iron, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, and D. British shoppers can purchase four 120-gram biscuits and dips for $3.64 / €3.41.

Sides and Sauces: Holy Perogy! fully loaded potato with cheddar and bacon European-inspired dumplings

These dumplings are a new spin on a food that has a long history both in Europe and the US. The innovative element is found in the shift away from the emphasis on heritage and tradition, to a more modern presentation: “Holy Perogy! has given this staple food a modern refresh without changing the overall experience or the core of why consumers love them. It also feels seamlessly aligned with the growing abundance of other global dumplings within the US, from gnocchi to soup dumplings to momos,” says Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, associate director of Mintel Food & Drink. Consumers in the US can buy the pierogies for $7.29 / €6.84 for a 453 g pack.