Over the past two years, Butterball emphasized a renewed focus on innovation in the turkey space with a newly created Innovation team to focus solely on new product development and identifying unmet consumer needs in the turkey space.
“There has been a significant demographic shift in recent years and the buying power of younger consumers means companies have to be constantly innovating to adapt to the changing demands and desires,” said Jeff Mundt, Butterball vice president of research & development and innovation. “It’s an exciting time to be innovating for a storied brand like Butterball. We’re always looking for ways to introduce fun and energizing creations that get people excited about new ways to enjoy a favorite protein.”
For the first time since the company renewed its focus on innovation, it is ready to unveil a product in a previously unexplored category for the brand—snacking.
All New Premium Snacking Portfolio
Snacking is becoming a lifestyle—95% of Americans report that they snack daily and 70% snack 2+ times per day.[1] With a wide assortment of snacking options in the marketplace, Butterball has created a product that maximizes convenience without sacrificing taste, quality or the naturally lean protein option our consumers seek to fit their healthy lifestyle.
Butterball is excited to introduce PREMIUM SNACKS—a portfolio of high-quality, seasoned turkey breast slices paired with unique sweet and savory sides. Inspired by distinct meal occasions there are three varieties in the line:
- Thanksgiving seasoned turkey breast with stuffing bites and dried cranberries
- Citrus teriyaki seasoned turkey breast with sesame sticks and dried pineapple pieces
- Cajun seasoned turkey breast with cornbread crisps and dried apple pieces
For many consumers, snacking has become a way to add variety and explore new flavors, so Butterball has transformed snack time into a next level eating occasion, delivering all kinds of flavorful turkey goodness to a life on the go.
“Snacking is a popular category that is already filled with many protein options, so we challenged ourselves to find a way to make Butterball PREMIUM SNACKS stand out on the shelf,” said Michelle Lieszkovszky, Butterball innovation brand manager, emerging innovation. “Moving away from the typical cheese and cracker varieties or the protein-only options often found in the snacking space allowed us to venture into more complex flavor combinations and offer unexpected snack components like cornbread crisps and dried pineapple. We’ve reimagined the snacking space and struck the perfect balance of coupling unique flavors with a strong nutrition profile.”
Each snack is portioned for a convenient, indulgent flavor experience, contains 100% all-natural turkey breast with 10 grams of protein, only 140-180 calories per serving, and hearty portions of high-quality meat with lower sodium compared to leading competitors.
Butterball Premium Snacks can be found at select retailers.
Source: Butterball
[1] Source: IRI Snacking Report, Motivations and Attitudes Analysis, 2018.