Tag Archives: New York City healthy vending machines

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New Yorkers You Are What you Eat

Are you emotionally engaged…with your food? Recent research by Mid Adult Woman Eating Healthy Breakfastthe Center for Food Integrity and the Harvard Business Review suggest you are.
In the December 15, 2015 issue of Food Business News, Keith Nunes writes an editorial that draws on the research of both of the above organizations. In his article titled, “The Role of ‘Emotional Engagement’ in Food Marketing” Nunes shares that consumers:
1. Want to be able to engage with a brand (think website Q/A, Twitter and Instagram)
2. Are seeking products that make them feel good about themselves and their decisions
3. Connect emotionally with brands when they resonate with their deepest emotional drives, including the desire to feel secure, to stand out from the crowd or be the person they want to be
4. View what they eat as more than substance
How Does This Affect Your Vending and/or Food and Beverage Program?

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As more research becomes available on emotional engagement with food and as consumers continue to become more educated on how the food they eat is produced and where it is grown expect to see your favorite snacks with new labels and in some cases new recipes (think no artificial flavors or colors, gluten free, organic, etc.)
And if it is true that snacks and more than snacks, that snacks are now a way to define ourselves; ask yourself not only what does your personal snacking say about you and your priorities, but what does the food you offer your New York City employees say about your company and your company’s priorities.
In other words, if you are what you eat, what do you want to be? Do you want your New York City company to prioritize cost, health, choice? Do you want to be known for quality, for offering the best, for being the best, for being on top of trends?
If yes to any of the above  we invite you to call us and speak to one of our team members about creating a snack and beverage program that defines you the way you want to be defined. Call Healthy Vending New York today at 917.572.3671 for a free no-obligation consultation of your break room needs.

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What Makes Food ‘Healthy’? KIND Calls On The FDA For A Better Definition

Most people want to be healthy in New York City. But one of the iStock_000010677573XSmallhardest things about following a healthy diet is that as the market for healthy food has grown, food marketers have used the term “healthy” very loosely. Refreshment service companies face this problem every day when trying to decide what food and refreshments to provide their customers.
For refreshment service professionals who specialize in “healthy” food in New York City and throughout the country, it is especially important that the food and refreshment be healthy in the truest sense of the word. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has tried to regulate the use of the term “healthy.” Let’s consider how a product earns the right to be labeled “healthy” according to government regulations.
The FDA mandates that the term “healthy” be used as a nutrient content claim to describe foods that contain 3g or less total fat and 1g or less of saturated fat per serving, with the exception of fish and meat, which are required by the regulation to have 5g or less total fat and 2g or less saturated fat per serving.
Is this a good definition? Many would agree with this definition, but the matter is open to debate.
KIND, a manufacturer of snacks that are gluten-free and made from non-genetically engineered ingredients, is urging the FDA to update its regulations around the term “healthy” when used as a nutrient content claim in food labeling. The company filed a petition with the goal of addressing outdated regulations, as well as helping to ensure that the public receives sound and consistent guidance about nutrition.

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KIND wants better alignment between food labeling regulations, the latest nutrition science and federal dietary guidelines. The petition reflects broad support within the food science and nutrition community to call attention to the importance of eating real foods made with wholesome and nutrient-rich ingredients as part of a healthy diet.
Today’s regulation precludes nutrient-rich foods such as nuts, avocados, olives and salmon from using the term “healthy” as a nutrient content claim. This is something KIND would like to see changed.
“KIND, with the support from top global nutrition and public health experts, is respectfully urging the FDA to update its current regulations surrounding the use of the word ‘healthy’ as a nutrient content claim. Our goal is to highlight the importance of following a healthy diet that includes foods made with wholesome and nutrient-dense ingredients,” says Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND.
The current regulations were created with the best intentions when Raisons and nutsthe available science supported dietary recommendations limiting total fat intake, Lubetzky says. However, current science tells us that unsaturated fats in nutrient-dense foods like nuts, seeds and certain fish are beneficial to overall health.
In addition to requesting updates to the current nutrient content claim regulations, KIND is also asking the FDA to implement a new framework for regulating dietary guidance statements.
Today in New York City and throughout the country regulations require that the majority of foods featuring a healthy nutrient content claim meet “low fat” and “low saturated fat” standards regardless of their nutrient density. Foods such as certain fat-free puddings and sugary cereals have the ability to use the word “healthy” as a nutrient content claim on their labels.
While healthy food is important, there is still work to be done to arrive at a consensus on what makes a product “healthy.”
These discussions will continue for a long time as nutrition research expands and science learns more about the impact products have on human health.
It is important that food and refreshment service providers give customers all available nutrition information about the products they offer. That’s one feature of a truly professional service specialist. Call Healthy Vending NY today at 917.572.3671 for a free no-obligation consultation of your break room needs.

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KIND To Cut Added Sugar Across Its Fruit & Nut Line in New York City

KIND, one of the most visible names in healthy snacks, is reducing kind-bars2added sugar across its original Fruit & Nut bar portfolio. This effort, which started in late 2014, is part of KIND’s brand promise to offer wholesome and tasty snack choices.
Beginning in late spring, KIND Fruit & Nut bars like Apple Cinnamon & Pecan and Almonds & Apricots in Yogurt, will contain between 15 and 50 percent less added sugar, compared to the prior recipes. The recipe update will be made to seven flavors across KIND’s Fruit & Nut Bar portfolio.
KIND was able to identify ways to lower sugar without compromising taste, such as swapping sweetened fruit with unsweetened fruit and reducing added sugar in certain ingredients like yogurt coatings. The result allows the flavor from the fruit, such as apricot and apple, and the nuts to take center stage. Like all KIND snacks, Fruit & Nut Bars contain no artificial sweeteners and no added sugar alcohols.
“At KIND we’re constantly challenging ourselves to do better. Last year our team revisited the line that started it all for KIND, our Fruit & Nut Bars, looking for ways to keep improving on a snack that was already packed with wholesome, delicious ingredients,” said KIND CEO and founder Daniel Lubetzky. “I’m so proud of our team. For us, this is much more than a recipe update, it’s about honoring our history and continuing to fulfill our brand promise of making snacks that are both nutritious and great-tasting.”
KIND’s Fruit & Nut line disrupted the snack bar category in 2004 with its nutrient-dense ingredients like premium nuts and pieces of fruit, made visible through transparent packaging.
“Eating sugar in excess, as many Americans currently do, is unhealthy, particularly when it is in the form of added sugar or artificial sweeteners versus the naturally-occurring sugar that you find in fruit,” said David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and senior nutrition advisor to KIND. “I’ve been a longtime advocate of KIND snacks because they contain wholesome ingredients like fruit, nuts and seeds and never use artificial sweeteners or added sugar alcohols.”
The number one ingredient in all KIND Fruit & Nut Bars is nuts, and the bars have a low glycemic index. Low glycemic foods generally help maintain blood sugar levels that are already in the normal range.

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Lowering the added sugar in KIND Fruit & Nut Bars is only the latest in KIND’s ongoing effort to create snacks that are both wholesome and delicious in New York City and across the country:
• In 2012, KIND introduced the best-selling line KIND Nuts & Spices, whole nut snack bars flavored with delicious spices for a seemingly indulgent taste – and have 5g of sugar or less, which is 50 percent less sugar per bar compared to the average nutrition bar
• In 2014, KIND debuted STRONG & KIND®, its bold, savory snack line featuring 10g of protein and containing no more than 6g of sugar per bar
• Also in 2014, the company expanded its line of KIND Healthy Grains® Clusters, adding two options with 6g of sugar or less, Raspberry Clusters with Chia Seeds (5g of sugar per 1/2 cup serving) and Banana Nut Clusters (6g of sugar per 1/2 cup serving)
City_Landscape_Revision_DoorKIND is also taking an active voice in public policy to helping advance better practices within the food industry to improve public health. This includes supporting a proposal from the Food and Drug Administration to include added sugars on the Nutrition Facts Panel, so that it will be easier for people to understand the amount of added sugar in the foods that they eat.
All KIND snacks are made from wholesome ingredients, are gluten-free and are made from non-genetically engineered ingredients. KIND currently offers seven different snack lines including: KIND® Fruit & Nut and KIND® PLUS, two lines of delicious whole nut & fruit bars; KIND® Nuts & Spices, a line of whole nut & spice bars that have 5g of sugar or less; KIND Healthy Grains® Clusters, delicious blends of five super grains; KIND Healthy Grains® Bars, a line of crunchy and chewy granola bars; and STRONG & KIND®, a line of bold, savory bars featuring 10g of protein. KIND’s newest innovation – KIND® BREAKFAST – are soft-baked with a crispy outside, providing sustained energy from whole grains.
Through its social mission – known as the KIND Movement – KIND is committed to inspiring kindness through acts big and small. It fulfills this commitment through programming like KIND Causes, which helps people bring their socially-impactful ideas to life with monthly grants. Looking for healthy break room service at your New York City workplace? Call Healthy Vending NY today at 917.572.3671 for a free no-obligaton consultation of your break room needs.

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Good News For New Yorkers: Major Food Brands Are Jumping On The Healthy Bandwagon

New York consumers, like people everywhere, are calling for healthy woman drinking waterhealthier food, and major brands can no longer ignore the call. In the past few months, several major brands – General Mills, Campbell Soup, Kellogg and Nestle – announced they are removing unhealthy additives.
This is good news for New York employers who have known for years that employees want to follow healthy lifestyles. As major food brands remove unhealthy additives, New York employers will have even more choices to help employees follow a healthy diet.
This month, General Mills Cereals committed to removing artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from all of its cereals in response to consumers’ changing preferences. More than 60 percent of General Mills cereals are already without artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen on behalf of General Mills, 49 percent of households are making an effort to avoid artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources.
cereal“At General Mills Cereals, we have been upgrading the nutrition and ingredients in our cereals for years to meet people’s needs and desires,” said Jim Murphy, president of the General Mills cereal division. “We’ve continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognizable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals.”
General Mills Cereals plans to have more than 90 percent of its portfolio free of artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources by the end of 2016. Trix will now use ingredients like fruit and vegetable juices and spice extracts such as turmeric and annatto to achieve the fun red, yellow, orange and purple colors.
In August, Kellogg announced Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies will soon be all-natural. Kellogg said it is aiming to stop using artificial colors and flavors in its cereal and snack bars by the end of 2018. The company said 75 percent of its cereals in North America were being made without artificial colors and more than half without artificial flavors.
In July, Campbell Soup said it would stop adding monosodium glutamate to its condensed soups for children and increase its organic offerings as part of a broader strategy to cater to changing consumer tastes.
Campbell also said it would remove artificial colors and flavors from nearly all of its North American products by July 2018, and that it would move away from using high fructose corn syrup in certain products, such as its line of Pepperidge Farm fresh breads, by the end of fiscal 2017. Most new products it is launching in 2016 also will not contain corn syrup.
Additionally, Campbell will launch new organic products, such as purees under its Plum line for kids and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers made with organic wheat.
In June, Nestlé pledged to improve the ingredient quality and iStock_000010520105XSmallnutritional profile of some of its most popular frozen pizza and snack brands without affecting taste. Nestlé announced the improvements, which encompass more than 250 products across six brands in the U.S.
By the end of 2015, Nestlé will have removed artificial flavors from every product within these brands. It will have reduced sodium by 10 percent across the entire portfolio of six pizza and snack brands compared to 2013 levels. It will incorporate guidance tools on packaging across these brands to help educate consumers on choosing appropriate portion sizes and the importance of eating vegetables and fruits as part of a balanced plate.
Healthy Vending applauds these companies for listening to consumers and making it easier for New Yorkers to follow healthy lifestyles.
For more information about healthy snack and beverage options available to the vending industry, contact your New York City vending partner, Healthy Vending, at 917-572-3671 to discuss your customized break room solution.