New Consumer Products – September 2008

• Kitchener, Ont.-based Sol Maté Beverage Group Ltd. has launched a new energy drink, Sol Maté, the first organic sparkling maté energy beverage. In South America maté is a drink typically brewed like tea and enjoyed hot, but this new drink is offered cold and carbonated, with no grassy taste. Sol Maté is craft-brewed, delivers energy without jitters, and packs a punch of antioxidants – a 10-oz bottle has the antioxidant capacity of half a cup of wild blueberries. Available in two flavours, Original and Lemon Lime, a 296-mL bottle retails for between $1.99 and $2.19.

• Just in time for cold and flu season, Danone has launched a product to help consumers combat viruses and infections. DanActive is a probiotic drink designed to reinforce the body’s natural defences, strengthening the immune system. It contains 10 billion bacteria L.casei Defensis, a probiotic culture unique to Danone. It also helps reduce the severity of cold symptoms and helps soothe digestive problems related to antibiotic treatments. DanActive comes in three flavours, blueberry, cranberry-raspberry and strawberry, with the 93-mL bottle available in a four-pack that retails for $3.29. Eight-packs are available in cranberry-raspberry and strawberry and have a suggested retail price of $5.99.

• Bonus Gum, from the Toronto-based Action Candy Company, was launched with functional food trends in mind. The Bonus Sugar-Free Function Gum line includes Green Tea, Cranberry or Energy flavours, and the Bonus Chill (Mint) Sugar Free Chewing Gum comes in Glacier Ice or Peppermint varieties. Twelve-packs of the Mint flavours retail for between $0.99 and $1.09, while the Function flavours retail for between $1.49 and $1.59.

• Salba, the newest grain to meet pasta, will be coming to Canadian consumers this month courtesy of Toronto-based Italpasta. The company has launched whole wheat penne rigate and whole wheat spaghetti both with Salba, a whole food source of omega-3 fatty acids (with eight times more omega-3 than salmon) and fibre. Salba is harvested in South America and is all-natural, trans fat- and gluten-free and is virtually tasteless. Italpasta partnered with Salba Olé to produce the products, which will retail for between $2.49 and $2.69 for a 340-g package.

• Shoppers Drug Mart’s new chocolate+plus line features four 50-g fine gourmet chocolate bars that each offer a distinct health benefit. Probiotic Plus features two billion active Bifidobacterium longum to promote good intestinal health, and comes in four flavours; Strong Bones is enriched with calcium and vitamin D3; Vitamin Bars are enriched with vitamin and mineral supplements and are available in two flavours; and Sweet Dreams is enriched with 980 mg magnesium oxide and 400 mg valerian to encourage restful sleep. All the bars retail for $2.49.