In a recent Glanbia insight report, it was revealed that consumers are trying to balance their cravings for indulgent treats with their desire to still eat healthily. This new understanding of conscious indulgence snacking has resulted in 64% of global consumers sharing that they feel it is okay to enjoy indulgent treats as part of a healthy diet.
This trend is driving demand for indulgent snacks worldwide, and we spoke once again with HIGH ROAD Co-Founder, Nicki Schroeder who told us more about one of their newest indulgent creations, their Ice Cream Stuffed Cookie Dough Bites. Keep scrolling to find out more.
Inspired by Bite-Size Indulgences
HIGH ROAD’s Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites were originally inspired by the fashionable Japanese dessert, Mochi, which has been growing in popularity in Western markets over the past few years. Similar to Ice Cream Mochi’s, which are made by wrapping sweet rice dough around an ice cream centre, HIGH ROAD’s Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites are made by wrapping cookie dough around one of the brand’s many handcrafted ice cream flavors and coating them in their own in-house dark chocolate recipe.
There are currently four SKUs in the range:
Mint Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie Dough Bites
Vanilla Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Cookie Dough Bites
Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Strawberry Ice Cream with Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
HIGH ROAD, being strong in the R&D department, came up with the idea for Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites upon discovering that research data was beginning to focus more on smaller portions, bite-sized formats, and novelty items.
“It’s hard not to feel inspired as you walk around our facilities with the flavors and smells of all of our different handcrafted ingredients and products. One day I thought why are we not making any novelties that take into account all of the different things that we make? The data was pointing us towards more innovative bite-sized novelties and so I started thinking about what we could do that would be a celebration of our existing ingredients and the new snack-sized format that was becoming more popular.”
After extensive brainstorming, research, and testing different variation and flavor possibilities, the HIGH ROAD team settled on the idea of combining their handcrafted ice cream and cookie dough capabilities to create their Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites. Their ‘Bites’ were initially referred to as ‘Wallops’ due to their large size, however during customer discovery testing, customer feedback informed them that the name was confusing and the product itself was too large. Taking that feedback into consideration has resulted in the very popular Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites that can be seen in freezers across the US today.
Fun fact: it was also from the creation of the Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites that the idea for their Stuffed Cookie Dough was born. You can read more about that here.
Conscious Indulgence at Your Fingertips
The indulgent frozen snack, containing approximately 110 calories per individual ‘Bite’, is available in packs of 6 in US retailers regionally. The brand increased the pack size from 4 to 6 based on customer feedback and also to improve the value proposition. The Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites can currently be found in Whole Foods in the South where they launched in the Summer of 2021.
HIGH ROAD found that the customer base for their Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites falls primarily between the 18-34 age range. Their audience typically includes families who are looking for a cleaner label sweet snack to enjoy with their children, and young adults who like to combine their treats i.e. have ice cream and cookie dough in one snack. Overall, Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites attract those searching for indulgent treats that are rich, satisfying, and worth the calories.
Marketed around the concept of treating yourself or taking an enjoyable moment to yourself, High Road’s Ice Cream Stuffed Dough Bites encourage their customers to indulge in the moment. While the product boasts a clean label and natural ingredients, the brand also wants the focus to fall primarily on the delectable flavors in each pack. This is portrayed through the packaging, typography, and colours used to make the brand stand out in the freezer.
How to start collaborating with High Road?
HIGH ROAD remains open to conversations from all types of national and international partners, including brokers and retailers, and are eager to cater to the needs and most indulgent desires of consumers around the world.
If you are curious about the HIGH ROAD brand and are interested in starting a conversation with the team, we would be more than happy to facilitate that introduction for you. Start by learning more about the HIGH ROAD brand here on our website and to discuss potential partnership opportunities with High Road, reach out to Nicolas on nicolas.marie@innodelice.com and/or Andrea on andrea.montreuil@innodelice.com.
This is the 3rd article in a series of HIGH ROAD featured articles. If you missed the others before this, you can catch up on them here:
ABOUT INNODELICE
Founded by former executives in the Ice Cream industry, INNODELICE aims to create a worldwide ecosystem of solutions within the frozen dessert industry. Thanks to the relationships fostered by INNODELICE, manufacturers, brands, importers, distributors and suppliers can discover, buy and sell solutions to GROW their business. These solutions include co-manufactured and branded products as well as innovative and competitive ingredients, packaging and services. Our collaboration model generates lower costs and fewer risks for our participating partners while optimising their time to market. To learn more about INNODELICE, contact Nicolas MARIE (nicolas.marie@innodelice.com), Andrea MONTREUIL (andrea.montreuil@innodelice.com) or visit www.innodelice.com.