Food fright: Plant-based burgers resembling human meat unveiled among chilling Halloween NPD

29 Oct 2021 --- As the bell tolls for the most frightful night of the year, intrepid foodies have the opportunity to sample industry’s festive rollout of new candy corn varieties, spooky specialty spirits, waste-reducing recipes from discarded scraps of pumpkin flesh and plant-based “human meat.”

Innova Market Insights analysis highlights that indulgence is still a key element for Halloween-themed products, but that healthy versions of traditional products – confectionery and bakery options, in particular – are gaining more shelf space.

Meanwhile, adult-focused Halloween experiences are a growing niche. The market researcher underscores that creativity is key to keep consumers engaged and there is still room for innovation and differentiation aiming this audience, especially when promoting adults-only products like alcoholic beverages.

Boo Bark by Trader Joe’s. (Credit: Trader Joe’s)Plant-based human meat
On the eve of Halloween, the plant-based food company Oumph! is hosting an unusual tasting event in Stockholm, Sweden. Fearless consumers are invited to sample the world’s first plant-based burger resembling human meat.

“This Halloween, we really want to push some boundaries to show that we can make plant-based products that resemble any kind of meat. For us, the most human way of having a burger is a plant-based one,” remarks Henrik Åkerman, global brand leader at Oumph!.

“The Human Meat Plant Based Burger” contains mostly soy, mushrooms and wheat protein as well as plant-based fats and a “mysterious spice mix.”

“We developed this burger in no time, as soon as we knew what taste and texture we were after. This is our ultimate and weird way of showing that it’s possible to create any type of food by using just plants,” adds Anders Linden, Oumph! co-founder, corporate chef and head of innovation.

Screaming for candy corn
Candy corn is a time-honored Halloween treat across North America. Celebrating the iconic yellow-orange-white kernels, the US’s largest producer of the sweet, Brach’s, which is marketed by Ferrara – has released data on the 20 states that consume it most.

Ferrara’s candy corn map. (Credit: Ferrara)“Candy corn has been a Halloween staple for more than half a century,” says Mariah Havens, director of seasonal marketing at Ferrara. “But we also know that candy corn is one of the most divisive seasonal treats and there are some people who don’t enjoy it.”

California, Texas, Florida, New York and Michigan were crowned the top five states craving candy corn. Ferrara listed Alabama, Hawaii, Nebraska, Vermont and Wisconsin as residents that had not joined “Team Candy Corn.”

“We want everyone to be on Team Candy Corn, which is why we introduced incredible, unexpected alternatives this year, including Nerds Candy Corn and Brach’s Minions Candy Corn.”

The company has also rolled out Nerds Halloween Gummy Clusters, featuring the poppable, crunchy, gummy candy in festive themed packaging.

Joining the roundup, the new Nerds Fun Size Treat Bag fills one variety bag with three Nerds favorites: Nerds Gummy Clusters pouches, Big Chewy Nerds treat-sized bags and grape and strawberry mini boxes.

Also launching are Black Forest Gummy Bears & Keebler Fudge Stripes Minis Cookies, which combine juicy Black Forest gummy bears and Keebler Fudge Stripe Minis Cookies in one bag for a convenient candy-cookie trick-or-treat pack.

Carving up a pineapple
In the face of a possible pumpkin shortage and soaring pumpkin prices in the US, Dole Food Company is encouraging Halloween revelers to carve a pineapple instead this year.

The pineapple and fresh produce giant is stepping-up this year’s annual Pineapple-O’-Lantern initiative, which was originally created to promote the nutrition and convenience benefits of the tropical fruit synonymous with Dole’s origins in Hawaii.

In the face of a possible pumpkin shortage and soaring pumpkin prices in the US, Dole is encouraging Halloween revelers to carve a pineapple instead this year. (Credit: Dole)In addition to promoting a special recipe, its Pineapple Jack-O’-Lantern and Bountiful Fruit Salad with Orange-Mint Dressing, Dole is offering free, downloadable pineapple Jack-O’-Lantern carving templates on the Dole website to make the process as easy as possible.

“For years we've been encouraging fruit-loving families to try something new by carving a pineapple at Halloween and are now expanding our efforts in light of any possible pumpkin scarcity,” says Melanie Marcus, Dole’s nutrition and health communications manager.

Marcus highlights that the fruit is low in fat and sodium and high in vitamin C and antioxidants – making it a sweet treat after a night of trick-or-treating.

Spooky specialty spirits
The Jägermeister’s Darke Spirit campaign launched in partnership with Foursquare, introduces an interactive experience with augmented reality that encourages people to visit participating venues to discover what the Darke Spirits really want.

The campaign invites adults to visit different locations, like bars and stores, and interact with augmented reality by texting “DARKE” to 55755 to “release the Darke Spirits,” which builds off of the idea that the ghosts of some old bartenders never truly leave. With location-based ads, the campaign also encourages people to visit Jägermeister spirits once inside a participating location.

Meanwhile, Stella Artois released a limited-edition holiday beer called Midnight Lager. The black lager boasts a deep color and equally dark notes of Belgian dark chocolate and freshly brewed espresso. 

Bacardi also unveiled its Superior Halloween White Rum, which has notes of vanilla and almond, developed in white oak barrels before being shaped through a blend of charcoal. The beverage comes in a 750ml glass bottle.

The Jägermeister’s Darke Spirit campaign launched in partnership with Foursquare. (Credit: Jägermeister)Tapping into texture with Boo Bark
“It can be a bit tricky to pick out a Halloween treat for yourself – with so many choices of candy available, how do you commit to just one?” Having this in mind, Trader Joe’s Boo Bark was launched, a confectionary collaboration of some of Halloween goodies, anchored by one creamy milk chocolate square.

To make each Boo Bark chocolate bar, supplier starts with a base of milk chocolate decorated in swirling spirals of seasonal orange and white colors. They then top this chocolate with four different Halloween-themed candies: chocolate eyeballs, candy corn, broken-up chocolate cookie pieces and orange chocolate candy gems. 

“The end result is that this Bark is nothing short of a sensory experience – you get the softness of the milk chocolate base, the crunch of the cookie bits, the sweetness of the candy corn and chocolate pieces on top.”

What’s scarier than food waste?
In the UK, Sainsbury’s has reduced plastic across its Halloween range, announcing it has cut back over 15 metric tons from circulation since last year.

To further help slash food waste, the supermarket chain has developed a series of recipes to show customers how they can use the usually discarded seeds and flesh from carving their pumpkins at home.

“We’re committed to reducing plastic packaging across branded and our own brand products by 50% by 2025 and halving food waste across our value chain by 2030, which is why we continue to look at ways we can reduce our impact not only in our business but by helping our customers do the same,” details Stephen Johnson, head of technical and ethical at Sainsbury’s.

Earlier this year, the retailer announced 520 of its stores now offer recycling for typically hard-to-recycle flexible plastics, including crisp packets and salad pouches – items not easily recycled by local authorities.

In UK, Sainsbury’s has reduced plastic across its Halloween range. (Credit: Sainsbury’s) Since 2013, the retailer has sent zero waste to landfill and currently partners with over 2,250 partners across the UK to donate surplus food.

Mind your treats
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is urging parents and guardians to be extremely vigilant to the dangers of inadvertent consumption, particularly by children, of cannabis edibles, products such as jelly sweets containing the psychoactive cannabis component known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

There is growing availability in Ireland of food products, in particular jelly sweets that contain significant amounts of the psychoactive component in cannabis. 

The FSAI issues this warning in advance of the Halloween festivities where small children, teenagers and adults will be celebrating and where there is an increased risk of people, particularly children, unwittingly consuming these types of products that are packaged similarly to brands of jellies.

This year to date, it has been reported that six children under the age of ten have been hospitalized having accidentally consumed THC-containing products which looked like normal jelly sweets, FSAI reports.

By Benjamin Ferrer