Typhoon Blue In

Further embracing the bolder-colors-for-kids concept, Hawaiian Punch, Stamford, Conn., has a blue, berry-flavored option hitting the supermarket aisles. However, the drink maker has other features to entice shoppers to its latest offering.

Noting Berry Blue Typhoon's lack of carbonation, Tim O'Brien, Hawaiian Punch brand manager, is also quick to point out the vitamin C enrichment in this drink. Berry Blue was one of a variety of flavors tested on target consumers—namely, children aged 6-12. Of those involved in the test, 93% regarded the new flavor as “awesome,” with 70% convinced to pester parents for the latest punch.

Berry Blue Typhoon is initially available only in gallon sizes and joins Green Berry Rush as Hawaiian Punch's latest launches. The emerald hue debuted less than a year ago, and Hawaiian Punch reports strong followings in the areas where it is available.

Liable to Label

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a rule requiring all nutrition labels containing trans fat information to bear a footnote: “Intake of trans fat should be as low as possible.” The proposal is based on a recent Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences report on macronutrients such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins.

Voicing opposition to the footnote, the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) said the suggestion may be misleading, inaccurate and incomplete.

“Incorporated into the current Nutrition Facts panel, the FDA's proposed footnote statement would lead consumers to believe that trans fat should be avoided entirely, while implying that saturated fat is safer for consumers,” said GMA director of scientific and nutrition policy Alison Kretser. “This is absolutely the wrong message to send to consumers.”

Gumming Up the Works

Amurol Confections, Yorkville, Ill., is taking the extreme route in its latest flavors of Bubble Tape. A number of new attention-getting flavors will join the growing ranks of Bubble Tape.

The intense flavors include Extreme Sour Lemon-Lime, Extreme Freeze Cherry, Extreme Sweet Cotton Candy and Extreme Fruit Raspberry. The packaging for the extreme line also has undergone a change, with a new silver color.

Like other Bubble Tape varieties, the extreme versions have six feet of bubble gum, but these will be available only from April through August.

Other new varieties of Bubble Tape will be around for the long haul. One flavor, in particular, has been a grown-up favorite for years but has been formulated for the Bubble Tape crowd. Cotton Candy and Sour Watermelon promise a sweet, juicy experience, though the juiciest news has to be the formulation of Bubble Tape to taste like Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

Berry Tasty

Cheerios, the round cereal treat from General Mills, Minneapolis, is also joining the berry bandwagon. Two new varieties—Berry Burst Cheerios Strawberry and Berry Burst Cheerios Triple Berry—are the first Cheerios offerings to pair the cereal with real berries in the box. The Triple Berry variety includes strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

The fresh fruit is freeze-dried to maintain appearance, texture and nutrition, says the manufacturer. Adding milk re-hydrates the fruit, which is only one improvement to the cereal.

A new, naturally sweetened flavor added to the cereal will “round out the Berry Burst taste experience.” A $40 million ad campaign will support the introduction, which adds to the six other Cheerios varieties—original, Team Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios and Apple Cinnamon Cheerios.