Kellogg’s may be best known for its cereal products, but the food giant is exploring an exciting collaboration between its iconic Pringles brand and its plant-based meat brand Morningstar Farms. This week, Kellogg’s unveiled Morningstar Farms Chicken Fries, a frozen vegan snack that can be heated in the microwave or air fryer.
The new plant-based chicken snack line is hitting stores in two flavors: Pringles Original (which features a classic potato with umami notes from the meatless chicken broth) and Pringles Scorchin Cheddar Cheese (a spicy and salty combo with a delicious kick from the meat-free cheddar).
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“Pringles is known for its crisp crunch, iconic can and flavor combinations, and we’re excited to offer fans a new way to enjoy the brand beyond the snacking occasion,” said Mauricio Jenkins, United States marketing lead for Pringles, in a statement.
“This partnership with Morningstar Farms brings the well-known and beloved Pringles flavor to a plant-based space with Chicken Fries, a fun and delicious mashup,” he said.
New Pringles Original MorningStar Chick’n Fries will hit stores in March with spicy flavors to follow this fall.
Kellogg’s gets into vegan chicken
As consumer tastes continue to evolve, Kellogg’s is working to innovate its plant-based brand MorningStar Farms. The new snack line with Pringles comes after Morningstar Farms revamped the brand in 2020 with the Incognito line, which features a variety of vegan meat products, including chicken, breakfast sausage and grounds.
“Given our mission to bring more people into the plant-based protein space, partnering with Pringles seems like the perfect next step in plant-based innovation for Morningstar Farms,” ​​Daniel Rapoport, Kellogg’s director of marketing, plant-based protein, said in a statement. statement
“We’re excited to build on the success of our recent product launches and bring Chicken Fries to Morningstar Farms’ versatile plant-based lineup, tapping into Pringles’ fun and distinctive flavor profile for a groundbreaking matchup,” said Rappaport. “We will continue to show our audience that you don’t have to sacrifice taste to eat plant-based, no matter what you do [it] Full-time or part-time.”
The new collaboration between Pringles and Morningstar Farms follows another launch where Kellogg dug into its holdings to develop exciting mash-up offerings.
Morningstar Farms
Last year, the company launched MorningStar Farms’ Incogmeato Plant-based Chik’n and Eggo Liège Style Waffle, the first vegan eggo waffle to hit the market.
Kellogg maintains a plant-based portfolio
Last year, Kellogg announced that it would split its products into three separate businesses, one dedicated to its cereals, one to its snacks and one to its plant-based products (tentatively called “Plant Co.”). Some speculated that it would sell one or more parts of its business.
However, after announcing its fourth-quarter sales this month, Kellogg decided to withdraw its plans for Plant Co. instead of keeping its plant-based business close to the chest.
“After exploring strategic options, the company has decided to retain its plant-based business, which represents 2 percent of net sales and offers strong long-term growth potential,” the company said in a statement.
With its plant-based portfolio still part of its core business, Kellogg plans to continue innovating its meat-free products. This year, its MorningStar Farms brand will introduce several innovations in the breakfast category, where it already offers vegan breakfast sausage patties along with several vegetarian items (which contain eggs and/or dairy) such as veggie bacon, meatless sausage links and breakfast. Sandwich
The new item will be plant-based breakfast egg bites in two flavors. Consumers will get their first taste of the line in March when MorningStar Farms Breakfast Bites with Vegan Egg and Sausage hit stores.
Morning Star Farms
This product features breakfast sausage with cheddar style cheese, onions and red bell peppers. This fall, Kellogg’s will release a second flavor at launch: Breakfast Bites with Vegan Eggs and Bacon, made with vegan eggs, mozzarella cheese, spinach, onions and meatless bacon.
While not all MorningStar Farms products are currently vegan, VegNews has confirmed that the upcoming Egg Bites will be made without animal products.
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Anna Starostenetskaya is Senior News Editor at VegNews and keeps an eye on all things vegan in her hometown of San Francisco, CA and elsewhere.