Glanbia seals US convenience store expansion with major Kum & Go deal

10 Nov 2017 --- Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) has announced that beginning this week, 344 locations of the family-owned US convenience store Kum & Go will offer GNP's Cake Bites in the Chocolate Frosted Donut and Berry Cheesecake flavors. GPN’s Optimum Nutrition Cake Bites, described as “whipped, bite-sized cakes that satisfy snack cravings with high-quality dairy protein and much less sugar than most candy options.”

“GPN recently introduced its ready-to-eat and ready-to-drink grab-and-go line up to the convenience channel at the NACS Show in Chicago. As the company continues to expand its brands into the convenience store channel, we are very proud to have Kum & Go as a high-profile retail partner,” says Jean Terminiello, GPN's National Director of Immediate Consumption Sales.

“As we work to deliver more than our customers expect, we're pleased to add Optimum Nutrition's Cake Bites to our snack lineup,” says Stephanie Poitry, Category Manager, Kum & Go. “Cake Bites are a great choice for our customers who are looking for a high-protein snack with a lower sugar profile.”

For nearly 60 years, Kum & Go has been dedicated to the communities it serves, sharing ten percent of its profits with charitable causes. Established in Hampton, Iowa, in 1959, the chain currently employs more than 5,000 associates in more than 400 stores in 11 states (Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming).

In recent months, Glanbia has debuted several dairy-related breakthrough products. For example, the company’s Nutritionals segment recently rolled out a patent-pending dispersion technology called BevEdge for powdered drink mixes. This particle dispersion technology is based on an all-protein solution and marketed as a clean label alternative to lecithin. 

BevEdge can be dairy- or plant-based and should be used with like powdered beverage systems, in order to achieve the cleanest label possible. For example, whey-based BevEdge works in whey protein beverage mixes. It eliminates lecithin from the label, while boosting protein content, lowering fat and providing better clarity than one gets with lecithin. It also offers formulators the opportunity to remove soy – an allergen – from the ingredient statement, as soy is the most common source of lecithin. 

Glanbia Nutritionals also has a new heat-stable agglomerated hydrolyzed whey protein called ProTherma, which is intended for use in hot ready-to-mix beverages such as malt/hot chocolate drinks, teas, coffees and hot soups, offering beverage brands the opportunity to create rich, high-protein, satisfying drinks. The ingredient’s ground-breaking heat-stable technology ensures that when it is added to hot beverages, the protein is stable and does not form any clumps or sedimentation, so consumers can enjoy a high-protein drink mix that disperses easily.

One of the benefits of consuming protein is how it induces satiety and thus may help with weight loss and weight management by curbing appetite. Glanbia has a new milk protein isolate ingredient called SatieTein, which is designed to increase satiety and slow the rate of digestion. In a recent study, it proved to reduce the desire to eat and support a decrease in hunger. Applications include all types of dairy foods, with beverage and yogurt being the most applicable.