On the Shelf!

See below for photo gallery!

Soothing drink
ViVa Beverages and its Canadian distributor, Hilary’s Salesmaster Inc. and GraceKennedy (Ontario) Inc. will sub-distribute Marley’s Mellow Mood and Marley’s One-Drop RTD Coffee in Canada. Marley’s Mellow Mood is a new line of 100 per cent natural, caffeine-free ready-to-drink cold teas and sodas. The beverages are formulated with a blend of chamomile, valerian root, passionflower, melatonin, rose hips and lemon balm, and are designed to reduce stress and relieve tension. Marley’s Mellow Mood has a suggested retail price of $2.49 and is available in two varieties: lightly carbonated sodas in Berry and Citrus flavours, and ready-to-drink teas in Green Tea with Honey and Black Tea with Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Peach flavours. The sodas come in 355-mL aluminum cans and the teas come in 473-mL glass bottles. The beverages are available at national food retailers, including Loblaw’s, Metro, Sobeys and Walmart.

Winning brew
Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewing Company, an independent craft brewer, has released a limited batch of the Toronto Beer Week Homebrew Competition winning beer called The Nightman Cometh Black IPA. Jeremy Skorochid from Waterloo, Ont. is the brewer behind the beverage. Brewed with Chinook and citra hops, The Nightman Cometh Black IPA has a roasty malt character up front balanced by a citrus aroma and hop bitterness. The beer is dry hopped with vast quantities of citra hops and comes in a 8.6 per cent ABV. The brew is available at the Amsterdam Brewery Retail Store.

Easy as pie
Tenderflake is making pie baking that much easier with its new Easy Pie! Pie kits. Consumers only need to add the fresh or frozen fruit and bake the pie for 30 minutes. Easy Pie! Is available in two varieties: Easy Pie! Double Crust Pie Kit and the Easy Pie! Crumble Topping Pie Kit. The double crust kit includes one six-inch pie shell, one pie top and one spice mix, and the crumble topping includes one six-inch pie shell, one crumble topping mix and one spice mix. The kits are ideal for serving two to four people. They’re available at major supermarkets across the country.

A good cuppa
Red Rocket Tea Company has introduced its Red Rocket Tea, a breakfast blend made with leaves from the mountains of Ceylon and packaged in a retro tin. Red Rocket comes in a 72-bag tin and is now in major grocery store chains across Canada. With each tin sold, proceeds will go to Nyota, a grassroots organization in rural Kenya that provides a nurturing home and learning environment for children who have lost their parents to AIDS or other tragedies.

Entertaining solutions
Summer Fresh Salads has launched two new products: Layered Dip Kits available in Mexican and Mediterranean. The Mexican Layered Dip Kit includes Spicy Mexican Bean Dip, Guacamole and a Spicy Sour Cream, which consumers can garnish with shredded cheese, fresh jalapeños and fire-roasted corn. The Mediterranean Layered Dip Kit includes Hummus, Bruschetta and a Greek Feta Dip, which consumers can garnish with crumbled feta cheese and sliced Kalamata olives. Consumers can use the layered dips for entertaining, as a snack or to create a single-serve indulgence.

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Holiday beverage
Organic Meadow Inc. has launched its own egg nog. Organic Meadow Egg Nog is produced in one-litre cartons and made in deliberately small, carefully controlled batches to ensure the highest quality. The company began distributing Organic Meadow Egg Nog in late November and says 2,000 litres are distributed across Ontario each week. Organic Meadow Egg Nog is available at many major grocers as well as specialty and health food stores in Ontario.

Fashion-forward bottle
Evian Natural Spring Water has partnered with French fashion designer André Courrèges to create a new limited edition bottle design. The design features Courrèges’ elegant white and pink emblematic flower on the backdrop of Evian’s iconic glass bottle silhouette. The bottle uses organic ink and is 100 per cent recyclable. The 750 mL bottle was made available in November at select retailers and restaurants in Canada.

Two-bite pancakes
Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp., the same company behind the two-bite brownie, has introduced a convenient breakfast option for parents on the go: two-bite Pancake Bites. Pancake Bites are made from scratch using buttermilk, farm-fresh eggs and maple syrup, and are available in Morning Maple and Chocolate Chip flavours. They can be eaten on their own and require no heating, defrosting or preparation. They can be served as part of brunch or even as a snack.

Holiday blend
Reunion Island Coffee has once again launched its limited edition Holiday Blend and the company’s support of Coffee Kids during the festive season. The coffee features 100 per cent organic and Rainforest Alliance certified beans that are harvested from farms that carefully adhere to strict rules on environment protection and biodiversity. Reunion Island is also donating $0.25 per pound of Holiday Blend sold to Coffee Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping coffee-producing families thrive in socially sustainable communities.

Greek yogurt
U.S.-based Chobani is testing its yogurt brand in Canada and Australia. The company launched its Chobani Greek Yogurt in Canada in November in five flavours: Black Cherry, Strawberry, Peach, Plain and Pomegranate. The yogurt is available at a variety of Loblaw banner stores in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Hamilton, Ont. Loblaw Companies Limited is serving as the test market retail partner in the GTA for a one-year period.

Spice up dinner
New from AB World Foods International is a line of Asian stir-fry mixes, cooking sauces and pastes for Canadian consumers who want to shake up their routines but have limited amounts of time. The line is sold under the Blue Dragon brand, which uses natural and authentic ingredients with little to no additives. The company says the line is free of MSG and sodium levels are also lower than those found in competing brands. The stir-fry pouches include Szechuan Pepper Stir-Fry Sauce, Wasabi & Plum Stir-Fry Sauce, Sweet & Sour Stir-Fry Sauce and Chilli Coconut Stir-Fry Sauce. The cooking sauces include Chow Mein Cooking Sauce, Chinese Curry Cooking Sauce, Tomato and Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce, and Sweet & Sour Cooking Sauce. The curry pastes include Thai Red Curry Paste and Thai Green Curry Paste. Packaging contains preparation suggestions, but consumers can try different combinations of vegetables and meat and products. The Blue Dragon stir-fry sauces retail for $1.99, the cooking sauces retail for $3.99, and the curry pastes retail for $4.99. All are available at Metro and Sobeys/IGA across Ontario and Quebec.