Over the Summer, we interviewed Nicki Schroeder from HIGH ROAD CRAFT ICE CREAM who told us more about the brand’s beginnings in the industry and how she and her co-founder, Keith Schroeder, learned to create handcrafted products at scale. If you missed the first article on HIGH ROAD, catch up by reading it here.
With four different product categories under their belt, and more to come, this article will dive deeper into their Stuffed Cookie Dough SKUs specifically, in order to better understand where the idea for Stuffed Cookie Dough came from, what flavours they currently have on offer, and what their future goals are for this product range. Continue reading below to find out more.
A Batch Made in Heaven
The idea to create Stuffed Cookie Dough originated while working on another High Road product - HIGH ROAD Bites, which are Ice Cream Stuffed Cookie Dough Bites. While in the process of watching the machine run, Keith and R&D Leader, Rebecca Haynes had an idea to make a brownie-cookie hybrid, or “brookie” as widely known in Pinterest circles, as a way to create something different with the ingredients they were already baking with.
A pack of Stuffed Cookie Dough now contains 9 dough balls that can be popped straight into the oven (from frozen or defrosted) with no prep or mess involved, making it a perfect fast bake-at-home option for families with children.
The HIGH ROAD team loves that they are now able to create excitement in a new part of the grocery store with their first non-frozen indulgence product! Their Stuffed Cookie Dough is currently available in two flavors:
Brownie Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
After having launched with a regional focus in 2020 across the US, High Road Stuffed Cookie Dough can already be found in retailers like Kroger (Atlanta) and Walmart. The latter saw them launch into 100 stores initially but they have since increased this to 800 stores due to the consistently positive sales they experienced.
Each box retails for approximately $5.99-6.99 USD. The product has been so popular since its launch that it has already won a 2021 Sofi Award after having been chosen as a winner from nearly 1,500 entries across 49 product categories. This was the second win for High Road this year with their Strawberry & Espelette Swirl pint also taking home an award.
As a brand with innovation at its centre, HIGH ROAD will be releasing two new Stuffed Cookie Dough flavors for next season: a nutty ‘Chocolate Chip Almond and Pecan with Brownie’ flavor, and a more decadent option for the true chocolate lovers with a ‘Dark Chocolate Cookie and Chocolate Ganache’ flavor.
Clean Label Indulgence
Given their entry into a new product category and a different placement in retail, HIGH ROAD are hoping to attract new eyes to their brand in stores. HIGH ROAD products are all-natural and made from scratch in their own facilities. They do not use any artificial ingredients like hydrogenated oils, nor any colorings or flavorings.
The team are anticipating that this clean and all-natural ingredient deck, something that is harder to find in this more indulgent product category, will catch the attention of “free from” consumers who are always looking for products free from artificial flavors or ingredients.
The clean label range is also proving popular in the foodservice world now that events and corporate meetings are starting up again. The High Road brand was originally created by Chef’s for Chef’s, so it makes sense that their current product range, like Stuffed Cookie Dough, has also been created with foodservice benefits in mind. Chef’s that are looking to add something different, yet indulgent to their menus will be big fans of the Brownie Stuffed Cookie Dough range.
They are shipped frozen, so with 144 to a box they can be stored frozen for up to one year, or stored in the fridge for up to 140 days. This fridge or freezer option also allows retailers more flexibility on where they choose to place the product in their stores.
How can the INNODELICE network support High Road’s growth?
With the Stuffed Cookie Dough range in mind, HIGH ROAD is looking to connect with brokering partners to help them build relationships with more US retailers as they move towards a goal of being nationally listed, but would also like to expand their brand presence in international markets where interest and demand for clean-label indulgence is high.
Retailers of interest would include those who are keen to show off their innovative and high-quality nature by stocking a high-quality brand like HIGH ROAD that is constantly innovating, and can also support them from a marketing perspective.
HIGH ROAD is also ready to create a club pack for wholesale retailers like Costco or Sam’s given the family-friendly nature of their Stuffed Cookie Dough product, as previously mentioned.
From a foodservice outlook, HIGH ROAD would love to share their Stuffed Cookie Dough with new Chefs across the US who are open to a two-way partnership with HIGH ROAD where they can share ideas and inspiration with each other to create highly in demand products for their restaurants or other foodservice spaces.
How to start collaborating with HIGH ROAD?
Are you interested in starting a conversation with the team behind HIGH ROAD? We are able to facilitate that introduction for you. To get started, learn more about the HIGH ROAD brand here on our website. To discuss potential partnership opportunities together, reach out to Nicolas on nicolas.marie@innodelice.com and/or Andrea on andrea.montreuil@innodelice.com and we will connect you.
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.