Boston-based food manufacturer Foodberry has partnered with fourth-generation cranberry producer Cape Cod Select to launch a line of Frozen Smoothie Bites that incorporate the iconic New England fruit.
Developed using Foodberry’s patented technology, the dairy-free, gluten-free bites combine a real fruit coating with a coconut cream-based smoothie center. The frozen line comes in two flavors at a suggested retail price of $6.99: Strawberry Cranana, a cranberry-based coating around a strawberry-banana smoothie center, and Peaches & Cran, a peach coating with a frozen cranberry smoothie center.
The bites recently launched at Meijer, with distribution expanded to Hannaford and The Giant Company in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as of Oct. 1. The products also were set to arrive at Market Basket in October, with online availability coming through Cape Cod Select.
From the bog to the freezer aisle
The partnership pairs Foodberry’s technology with Cape Cod Select’s roots in cranberry farming. The Rhodes family’s Edgewood Bogs operation spans approximately 800 acres in southeastern Massachusetts and produces 6 million to 7 million pounds of cranberries annually.
A key development priority was starting with Cape Cod Select’s own fruit rather than cranberry flavoring. The companies created a purée retaining fine cranberry fibers, skin and seeds, preserving the character of real fruit.
The collaboration, which grew out of Cape Cod Select’s exploration of frozen smoothie cubes and the discovery that Foodberry sat less than an hour away, went from first development conversations to market in approximately nine months.
“Cape Cod Select brought us exceptional cranberries and generations of expertise in the fruit, and our technology allowed us to translate that ingredient into entirely new bite-sized formats,” said Marty Kolewe, CEO of Foodberry. “It’s exactly the kind of innovation Foodberry was built to enable.”
“We have been growing cranberries for generations, but we are always looking for new ways to bring this incredible fruit to consumers,” said Cindy Rhodes, founder and CEO of Cape Cod Select. “Foodberry helped us take our own cranberries and turn them into something completely unexpected, a delicious, convenient and snackable indulgence that you can enjoy straight from the freezer.”
Foodberry, whose commercial platforms include fruit-coated ice cream and smoothie bites, juice-filled fruit bites and fruit-and-nut-butter bites, produces all products at its Boston facility. Cape Cod Select, founded by Rhodes in 2009, sources exclusively from Edgewood Bogs and offers frozen cranberry products nationwide.
Related: Foodberry, Bel Group Partner To Reimagine Fruit-Based Snacking