Nestlé debuts refrigerated afternoon pick-me-ups

The world’s largest food manufacturing company is launching a new chilled snack called Nestlé Rallies Nut Butter Bombs. These refrigerated bars are filled with nut butter, coated in a chocolate shell, and come in three flavors: Brownie Almond Butter and Salted Cashew Butter and Raspberry Peanut Butter.

Both Brownie Almond Better and Salted Cashew Butter are available in the U.S. at select Hy-Vee stores with nationwide availability online. Raspberry Peanut Butter will arrive on shelves in early 2022 at the same time that Nestlé is expanding the in-store distribution of its new snack offering.

One package of bite-sized, individual bars retails for $2.49, and six packs retail online for $19.99.

As better-for-you and health-conscious consumers appear to be driving much CPG innovation, Nestlé is taking a step away from the trend with the launch of this bar. Marketed as an afternoon reward or pick-me-up, these indulgent bars will be strategically placed around the perimeter or stores to attract the attention of shoppers focused on the less processed products that typically occupy these areas of supermarkets.

While the Swiss CPG giant did not go as far as equating the positioning of Rallies with the health of the actual treats, the company did highlight the nutritional profile of these new snacks.

"Nestlé Rallies offers a delicious treat with less added sugar than consumers are used to finding in similar snacks,” said Nestlé innovation manager Michael Darman. Not only do they have lower sugar, but Rallies have no preservatives and no artificial colors or flavors, the company said.

Snacking has been a popular category for years, but the pandemic supercharged this segment with consumption jumping 8% at the beginning of the pandemic last April, according to a new study from the NPD Group. By November of 2020, those figures continued to climb in certain categories with sales of premium chocolate increasing 12.5% between March 15 and Aug. 9 last year, according to data from the National Confectioners Association.

The desire to indulge did not diminish as the pandemic wore on. “Seventy-four percent of consumers say "treating oneself" is the main driver of comfort snacking to combat slumps in their busy lifestyles,” Darman said, citing a Hartman Group survey.

Although consumers are keen on indulgences, Nestlé is wisely tapping into two trends simultaneously by positioning Rallies as a refrigerated bar. Chilled bars have increased in popularity recently with Kind, Hormel Foods-owned Justin’s and Mondelez’s Perfect Snacks all making a bid for the space, which represents a third of the total snacking market, generating $20 billion in sales in 2019, according to Mintel data.

As it expands the reach of Rallies, Nestlé will come up against some tight competition. However, the company’s expansive supply chains and deep relationships with retailers offer it a let up as it vies to compete against more established brands within this space.