Nature’s Path Products for Pandemicked Consumers

By Lorrie Baumann

As COVID-19 impact continues to be felt by shoppers, Nature’s Path is introducing several new products that will appeal to consumers who are more likely to believe in the value of nutrition as a preventive measure in their efforts to remain healthy. The new products include a pair of boxed grain-free hot cereals, two Superfoods Oatmeals packaged in single-serving cups and three Superfood Granolas packaged in pouches under the Nature’s Path brand, along with EnviroKidz Turtle Splash cereal and new Love Crunch granolas designed for snacking.

In addition, Nature’s Path has partnered with Loop, a new project by social venture TerraCycle that’s focused on removing packaging waste from the online marketplace for consumer goods. “That has been a wonderful partnership,” said Arjan Stephens, Nature’s Path’s General Manager and a second-generation member of the family-owned business founded by Arran and Ratana Stephens in 1985.

According to an analysis by market research firm Euromonitor International, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an evolution in consumer markets that’s expected to be felt for some time to come. It has transformed the economic landscape by creating what is forecast to be the worst global recession since the 1930s, hitting every sector from hospitality to education and finance and inspiring consumers to be very value-conscious, not just in terms of price but in terms of how well products and price points fit into brands’ alignment with social and personal values. “Uncertainty remains high, but what is clear is that economies will not emerge unscathed and the daily routines and lifestyles of consumers will shift to accommodate continued social distancing,” Euromonitor stated in a recent report that predicts that, “a new normal will emerge, as fears of a pandemic or other destructive events remain palpable.” Fresh food, packaged food and home care purchases are exceptions to the general prediction that COVID-19 will have a negative impact on consumer markets. “We do not expect to see a new normal for packaged food; the industry is doing well and expects to return to normal in most cases, with a residual impact of stockpiling bringing purchases forward in some cases,” the Euromonitor report predicts.

“Demand for healthy organic food products isn’t slowing down,” Stephens agreed. At the outset of the pandemic, Nature’s Path had considered delaying its launch of new products because retailers were less focused on finding new products than on simply keeping their shelves stocked, but ultimately decided to proceed with planned launches simply because innovation is the lifeblood of the company’s brand, he said.

Nature’s Path is seeing some of the evolution in consumer buying habits predicted by Euromonitor in sales of its own organic breakfast and snack food products. With many consumers now working from home and not necessarily planning to return any time soon to crowded commutes, jammed elevators and Petri-dish break rooms, some of them have rediscovered breakfast cereals. “They have the commute time back,” Stephens said. “Maybe you can enjoy your breakfast again and there’s a greater recognition that food affects overall health…. We’re seeing a huge resurgence in granola as well as cereals, especially in large-size packages.”

“Of course, working from home you have the ability, with not having to go to the office five days a week, you can save that time and be more healthful while you’re at home,” he added. “We’re seeing more consciousness around the food that’s being put into our family’s bodies. With kids not being able to go to school, that has allowed parents to be more mindful of the food they’re bringing home to their kids…. If they don’t have to drop their kids off at school, they can take those extra three to five minutes to make sure that they’re feeding their kids a healthy breakfast.”

Nature’s Path is offering those parents a new breakfast choice with its EnviroKidz Turtle Splash, a strawberry-chocolate flavored cereal in turtle shapes that’s gluten free and contains fruits, vegetables and legumes along with 4 grams of protein and 9 grams of sugar – an amount of sugar that’s 14 percent of the adult daily value – per 1-cup serving. The cereal is made with navy beans and brown rice flour and colored with beetroot and strawberry juice concentrate, so it colors milk pink, and the 10-ounce box offers a symbolic adoption of a baby sea turtle. EnviroKidz plans to donate 1 percent of Turtle Splash sales to animal conservation partners to support educational programs and endangered animals. Like all Nature’s Path products, it’s organic and it’s certified by the Non-GMO Project.
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Nature’s Path also has a pair of new Grain Free Hot Cereals that are Paleo-friendly and vegan: Maple Almond Crunch and Cinnamon Apple Crisp. They’re nutrient-dense and boosted with 9 grams per serving of protein derived from watermelon seeds. They’re also an excellent source of ALA Omega 3 healthy fats.

New Nature’s Path Superfood Granolas are offered in three varieties: Golden Turmeric, Cacao and Smoothie Bowl. They’re snackable granola clusters with a cookie-like mouthfeel and each is boosted with super food ingredients and healthy fats in the form of coconut and avocado oil. Golden Turmeric contains turmeric, cinnamon and ginger along with black pepper and coconut sugar that contributes 5 grams of sugar per serving. The Cacao is made with fair trade raw cacao nibs and fair trade cocoa powder along with maca and lion’s mane mushroom. Its coconut sugar contributes 4 grams of sugar per serving. The Smoothie Bowl variety contains spirulina, chlorella and kale along with a three-berry blend for extra antioxidants and fiber. Sweetened with coconut sugar, it has 5 grams of sugar per serving.

Golden Turmeric and Cacao flavors show up again in the new Nature’s Path Superfood Oatmeal, packaged in 1.76-ounce single-serving cups. They have 4 to 5 grams of sugar per serving in a base of steel-cut oats, rolled oats and chia seeds.

For its snack-focused Love Crunch brand, Nature’s Path is introducing two new premium organic granolas: Salted Caramel Pretzel and Espresso Vanilla Cream. Along with its whole grain rolled oats, the Salted Caramel Pretzel variety offers chunks of Fairtrade dark chocolate, caramel puffs made with Fairtrade sugar and molasses and a sprinkling of Himalayan sea salt. It delivers 140 calories per 1/4-cup serving. Love Crunch Espresso Vanilla Cream was inspired by Affogato, an Italian dessert of vanilla gelato drowned in a shot of espresso, and is made with Fairtrade-certified coffee black cocoa powder and cane sugar. It delivers 130 calories per 1/4-cup serving.

According to the Euromonitor analysis, healthy eating is likely to become even more important for consumers as their balance of exercise with nutrition has been disrupted by COVID-19 and the more sedentary lifestyles that the pandemic has enforced. “This will accelerate the shift towards more holistic wellness and eating, although the focus on calories consumed may become more important,” its report states.

Even as Nature’s Path has remained focused on its essential mission of producing healthy breakfast and snack foods, the company has also continued to extend its commitment to environmental sustainability, according to Stephens, who noted that the company occupies the first zero-waste-certified cereal facility in North America, with waste diverted to recycling, composting and animal feed rather than a landfill. At this point 97 percent of its packaging, measured by weight, is recyclable, and the company has committed to making sure that the remaining 3 percent will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

As part of that effort, the company has partnered with Loop, a TerraCycle venture that’s teaming up with consumer packaged goods companies – most of them in the personal care and home care spaces, although a few food companies such as Nature’s Path are involved – to create reusable packaging for products that are delivered to consumers who order through an online platform and delivered in a reusable tote. As the products are used, the empty containers are deposited back into the tote. When the tote has been filled, the consumer orders a pickup to return it to the Loop, where it’s cleaned and sanitized so it’s ready to be refilled for the next customer. The consumer pays a deposit on the reusable containers that’s repaid when the containers are returned, or the consumer can also opt for a subscription plan in which the return of the container triggers a re-order for the next delivery. The delivery-pickup-sanitize-reuse cycle does come with environmental footprint of its own, but it’s considerably less than the environmental impact of single-use containers, according to Loop. The company has begun deliveries on the East Coast of North America and has plans to continue its international expansion this year.