Company: Hazelnut Growers of Oregon

Website: www.hazelnut.com

Introduced: October 2020

Distribution: National

Suggested Retail Price: $2.69-$3.29

Product Snapshot: Hazelnut Growers of Oregon (HGO) is expanding nine products in its Oregon Orchard snack lineup with single-serve 2.2 oz. packages.

The new chocolate dipped, grab-and-go size hazelnut items are: Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Skinny Milk Chocolate (20 percent less chocolate) and Marionberry Chocolate. On the savory/seasoned side, Himalayan Salt, Southwest Chili Pepper, Sweet & Spicy Barbecue, Rosemary, and Cinnamon Sugar are now available in the 2.2 oz. pouches. The new lineup will start shipping in early October for a suggested retail price of $2.69-$3.29 at Wilco Farm Stores in the Pacific Northwest, at www.farmstore.com, www.oregonorchard.com and on Amazon.

Greg Thorsgard, HGO’s chief operations officer, said the new single-serve packages meet a growing demand from consumers seeking better-for-you, on-the-go snacks.

“The 2.2 oz. package size is a perfect size to introduce people to a healthy and delightful snack,” Thorsgard said. “It also allows us to enter different trade channels from grocery to C-stores.”

According to The State of the Specialty Food Industry, U.S., June 2020: Chocolate and other confectionery products saw a more than 14% year-over-year growth, even during the coronavirus pandemic. Mintel has reported that specialty foods’ consumers’

“likelihood to purchase index” for the nuts, seeds, and trail mix category has grown to 38% for 2020, up from 23% in 2018 and 26% in 2019.

Hazelnuts are a good source of vitamins B6 and E; and are Keto-friendly. All Oregon Orchard snacks are produced with HGO members’ hazelnuts, which are steam pasteurized in small batches at the SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 3 Certified processing facility in Aurora.