Consumers are as erratic as ever, with eating habits that span the healthier and indulgent food spectrum. But some consumers are looking to strike a balance between nutritional content and that which satiates their need for a full belly of tasty food. Food and beverage companies are meeting the challenge by combining fortification technology with rich ingredients to deliver delicious foodstuffs that do a body good.

The three sides of a triangle in the Vitalicious logo stand for nutraceuticals (nutrients), weight management and all-natural. With nutrients, the company’s products can provide consumers with satisfaction; all-natural ingredients can give consumers peace of mind that products are void of harmful ingredients; and weight management messages can promote healthy lifestyles and combat bad eating habits.  

With these three ideas in mind, Vitalicious, New York City, set out to develop fresh, good-tasting baked goods fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.

“We saw a need for a product that people love — a product that allows them to eat what they want to eat, rather than force themselves to eat something they don’t like,” says Aryeh Hecht, president and founder of Vitalicious.

The original idea came with VitaMuffins, a line of muffins fortified with at least 15 essential daily vitamins and minerals, and packed with fresh, fruity, home-baked taste. “We created a muffin for the delivery of nutrients, but we never gave up on taste. Taste is paramount,” says Hecht.

With positive feedback from the chocolate VitaMuffin variety, the company recently decided to launch VitaBrownie. The product is similar to VitaMuffin in that it is fortified with vitamins and minerals, but some might say that it’s even more indulgent that the muffins — it’s a brownie. The decadent, chocolate chip-laden treats are topped with walnuts, and contain 100 calories and 2.5 gm. of fat. The 2-oz. brownie is packed with 15 vitamins and minerals, 10 of which are fortified to provide 50% of the daily value for folic acid, iron and Vitamins C, A, E, B6 and B12.  Each VitaBrownie contains six gm. of fiber — equivalent to the fiber in one cup of broccoli or nearly two apples.

“Every time we introduce a product we look to improve taste and ingredients,” says Hecht. “We’re not trying to change people. Instead, we try to change the product to fit people’s needs.”

VitaBrownie, available in Deep & Velvety Chocolate flavor, is made with wholesome, quality ingredients including stone ground wheat flour, walnuts, cocoa, soy and honey.