2016’s Best New Holiday-Themed, Limited-Edition Food Products
With Halloween done, food companies are getting ready to launch a bucketload of holiday-themed products onto consumers as the holiday season comes around. From gingerbread to peppermint, common holiday flavors will be popping up in grocery stores and restaurants everywhere. With Food Business News releasing a slideshow featuring some of the newest food products that are set to entice holiday shoppers, we got to thinking: which holiday-themed food products are truly a step above the rest this year? Here’s a list of our favorites and which companies are selling them:
Starbucks – Spiced Sweet Cream Nariño 70 Cold Brew
Photo: Delish
Starbucks has definitely gone away from their traditional style of new holiday drinks. Usually, spiced warm drinks splash onto the menu as new introductions this time of year. This time, they went for a cold beverage with holiday flair. For those of us that live in warmer areas during the winter, we’re definitely open to it. Even if we don’t get to drink out of the new green holiday cups.
Ethel M (Mars) – Dark Chocolate Crème de Menthe
Photo: PR Newswire
The premium chocolate brand of Mars has dropped the mic on the holidays with a slew of new products. While these are mainly new holiday-themed tins, one of the two new chocolates stick out. This boozy creme-filled dark chocolate takes peppermint chocolates to a whole new level.
Our Little Rebellion – Fudge and Snickerdoodle Popcorners Mini’s
Photo: Food Business News
Our Little Rebellion has a great line of popped corn chip snacks, and these two new holiday flavors are perfect additions. Chocolatey fudge and aromatic snickerdoodle put a holiday twist on these non-GMO, gluten-free snacks that are perfect to serve to any guest.
Dunkin’ Donuts – Boston Kreme Croissant Donut
Photo: Delish
We previewed the new Dunkin’ Donuts holiday menu for you all recently, but this has to be one of the best new additions by the beloved donut slingers. Boston Creme Pie is a classic American dessert, and this croissant donut is the perfect way to spread it across the nation. With rich Bavarian cream and a chocolate icing, this truly is the definition of holiday indulgence.
Arby’s – Venison Sandwich
Photo: ABC7 Chicago
While not released specifically for the holidays, the timing of Arby’s release of this new sandwich matches perfectly with them. Venison is a more common meat in higher-end restaurants around this time of season, and isn’t as available to consumers as it should be. While Arby’s is selling this in more hunting-centric locations, we’re excited to see this hopefully spread across the U.S. in the future. We’re just hoping that it’s not Rudolph being served in one of those sandwiches.
Hershey’s – Sea Salt Caramel Baking Chips
Photo: Food Business News
Who doesn’t love salted caramel? This awesome trend has made it into baking chips, and it’s ready to take holiday baking to a salty-sweet level of bliss. We’re hoping to see a lot more salted caramel chip cookies being baked during this holiday season.
Your Pie – Chicken and Waffle Pizza
Photo: 365 Things to Do In Houston
This pizza chain is going all-out on its new addition. The line between sweet and savory is totally blurred here with fried chicken pieces, waffle, syrup, ricotta, Parmesean, and basil. A scoop of apple pie gelato really gets this pizza in the holiday mood as well.
Krispy Kreme – Pumpkin Spice Coffee Thins
Photo: Food Business News
There had to be at least one new pumpkin spice product on this list, and Krispy Kreme is rocking it with this new product. They teamed up with Tierra Nueva to create a coffee treat that tastes like a pumpkin spice latte. Three of these have the same caffeine as a cup of coffee, so make sure to grab a pack for caffeine on the go!
General Mills – Cinnamon Star Crunch
Photo: Food Business News
This isn’t really much of a flavor change, but look at how adorable those star shapes are! Add this to the list of reasons why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Pringles – Salted Caramel Potato Chips
Out of the three new Pringles chips flavors released for the holidays, this one is hands down the best. The salty chips get accentuated by the sweet caramel flavors going on for a perfectly balanced holiday snack. Hats off to you, Pringles, this flavor combo is brilliant for the holiday season.