Starting August, Hershey's will be offering Krave protein bars made from dried meats incorporated with other ingredients such as mangoes, cranberries and quinoa. A protein-centric brand will also be developed and will be called SoFit containing sunflower seeds and almonds coated in protein, fruit-flavored protein smoothies in squeezable pouches and snack bars exclusively sold online.
The 122-year old chocolate manufacturer is making a stake that dried meat bars will be the new chocolate bars. Hershey promotes the new offerings as an effort to keep pace with American's changing tastes. However, others see the strategy as an attempt by a candy company having iconic brands on the incorrect side of what many consumers want, which is to attract more consumers, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The "meat bars" will be introduced by Hershey's through its Krave Pure Foods division which it acquired last year. Some of the flavors include black cherry barbecue, pineapple orange and basil citrus . As mentioned by the vice president of US snacks for Hershey's Marcel Nahm, meat snacks are a tiny division in the U.S. But as more consumers check on food labels to find healthier, protein-packed snacks, more food companies are investing on health foods which become a lasting trend.
"We don't compete only with large companies anymore, we compete with a great number of small entrepreneurs now," Nahm says. Hershey's isn't the only one doubling down on meat. Tyson's Hillshire brand is now making bite-sized chicken and salami snack packs. Wilde Snacks is experimenting with baking jerky-like snacks instead of smoking them. That renders the meat softer than jerky, with a texture more akin to a nutrition bar or, less appealingly, the next generation of Spam, the Quartz reported.
