The goods: berries, bites and biscuits

8th January 2021 | Eativity editors

Just when you decide to start off the new year with a super-healthy diet, food companies take the opportunity to release tempting new treats to lure you back towards the dietary dark side. First world problems indeed. While we’re usually the epitome of healthy living here at Eativity (*surreptitiously slides half-eaten wheel of triple cream brie under pile of papers on desk*), we thought it our civic duty to share the good food news with you all, in case you felt like spoiling yourself over the weeks to come.

First up we have a new chocolate biscuit collection that showcases some of Australia’s finest produce, which can then be balanced nicely by a savoury biscuit collection that pays homage to three of our favourite comfort foods. Swinging back to sweet, one of Australia’s most iconic lolly-makers has released some new bite-sized goodies, downsizing familiar favourites into miniature form. Will you eat less of them? Unlikely.

Lastly, because you’ll probably need a nice cup of tea and a good lie down after all that sugar, we’ve cleaned up our act a bit for the grand finale, sharing a new range of probiotic and herb-infused Australian teas that can help to support your digestive health.

Tastes of Australia, covered in chocolate

At the end of last year, we shared the news of the Tim Tam Crafted Collection, which is inspired by the tastes of Australia. The first in the collection to be released was Murray River Salted Double Choc Tim Tams, and now Arnott’s will be releasing the remaining three flavours in the collection on January 11 – Moreton Bay Raspberry & Dark Choc, which uses surplus raspberries from South Queensland frozen berry producer My Berries; Kensington Pride Mango & Cream using the popular and Australian-cultivated Kensington Pride or Bowen mango; and Dimbulah Mountain Estate Coffee & Choc, made with single origin arabica coffee grown at Dimbulah Mountain Estate in tropical North Queensland.

New flavours taking shape

Following the launch of chicken parmi/parma Shapes earlier this year, which caused quite the social media brouhaha, Arnott’s has concocted three new limited-edition Shapes flavours. The range was inspired by consumer research which found snackers were looking for “fun” flavours. When asked what kind of new flavours they were looking for in their snacks, 53 percent said comfort foods were on their list.

And so, meet the new additions: Triple Cheese Toastie, Sizzling Steak and Onion, and Double Cheeseburger. The new Arnott’s Shapes range is available across retailers nationwide from early January. Triple Cheese Toastie is available at all national retailers, Sizzling Steak and Onion is exclusive to Woolworths, while Double Cheeseburger is exclusive to Coles and independent grocery stores.

A mini-choc twist on three Aussie favourites

Australia’s iconic lolly brand Allen’s and choc favourite Chokito have launched three new bite-sized treats. The “Bites” creations bring together familiar favourites in miniature form: Allen’s Mini White Choc Raspberries, Allen’s Mini Chocolate Black Cats and Chokito Bites.

Allen’s Mini White Choc Raspberries are inspired by the Milkybar, combined with sweet raspberry lollies; while the Mini Chocolate Black Cats are purrfect for aniseed lovers. Alongside the Allen’s treats, the big Chokito taste has been squished down into a bite-sized portion with Chokito Bites, a blend of chewy caramel and crunchy rice crispies encased in milk chocolate. The Bites range is available in supermarkets and convenience stores.

Detox, relax and digest

The Nerada tea masters, based in Brisbane, have created a new range of feel-good herbal infusions, with added probiotics to support digestive health. They include an exclusive selection of nature’s finest botanicals, herbs and flowers to produce three blends powered by a natural (and neutral-tasting) vegan probiotic ingredient, GanedenBC30.

The new Probiotic Infusions range includes: DETOX with dandelion, nettle, lemon verbena, senna and milk thistle; RELAX with camomile, valerian, lavender and lemon balm; and DIGEST with ginger, peppermint, fennel and lemongrass.

Each teabag contains 500 million probiotics, so just two cups of tea will provide the recommended daily 1 billion probiotic serving for gut health. You’ll find Nerada’s new probiotic infusions at independent retailers or neradatea.com.au