Looking to create a luxurious dessert while being mindful of the environment? Brave Robot’s latest offering makes it incredibly easy — quite literally! Known for its ice cream pints featuring Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy, Brave Robot has introduced its second product: the Climate Hero Super Cake Mix. This yellow cake mix serves as a versatile dessert base, complete with recipes for delightful treats like chocolate whoopie pies, carrot cake, coffee cake, and chocolate peanut butter brownies. Notably, it marks the first product to utilize Perfect Day’s milk protein, derived from precision fermentation without any cows involved.
While conventional cake mixes typically demand additional ingredients such as eggs, milk, and butter, the Climate Hero Super Cake Mix only requires water and oil. Its formulation is entirely free from dried egg protein, ensuring it remains completely animal-free. According to the announcement regarding the Climate Hero Super Cake Mix, the creamy animal-free dairy proteins can effectively replace eggs, helping to keep the baked cake tender and moist.
Although traditional cake mixes might not significantly impact the environment, the Climate Hero Super Cake Mix brings several sustainability claims to the forefront. In a life-cycle assessment of its animal-free proteins, Perfect Day discovered that their process generates up to 97% less greenhouse gas emissions, consumes as much as 60% less nonrenewable electricity, and uses up to 99% less water compared to conventional cow-based dairy. Furthermore, the Climate Hero Super Cake is packaged in a fully compostable bag.
Perfect Day, affiliated with Brave Robot’s parent company, The Urgent Company, has long aimed to incorporate its animal-free dairy into various grocery products. CEO Ryan Pandya expressed his anticipation of Perfect Day proteins appearing in 20 new product categories by 2022. Dairy is a common ingredient across the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, found in snacks, frozen meals, dips, dressings, cookies, beverages, and desserts. This launch exemplifies the potential of animal-free dairy in applications where dairy isn’t the primary focus, potentially paving the way for a new wave of CPG products that utilize animal-free dairy protein as an ingredient, all while helping achieve broader sustainability objectives. This allows environmentally conscious consumers to indulge guilt-free.
In a different realm, Tropicana has introduced a creative solution to a long-standing dilemma: how to savor the taste of citrus after brushing your teeth without enduring that unpleasant aftertaste. The brand has launched a limited edition Tropicana Toothpaste, claiming to offer “maximum OJ flavor protection.” According to a recent Instagram post, this toothpaste is specifically designed to preserve the flavor of orange juice while still effectively cleaning teeth.
A survey conducted by Tropicana revealed that nearly 80% of participants felt that brushing their teeth ruined the taste of orange juice, with a quarter describing the flavor as akin to burnt toast and dirty pennies. The culprit in most toothpastes responsible for this unfortunate taste is sodium lauryl sulfate, which is notably absent from Tropicana Toothpaste. This ingredient, while deemed safe for use and responsible for the foamy texture in toothpaste, can irritate some individuals’ gums. Brands like Sensodyne and Burt’s Bees also offer sodium lauryl sulfate-free options.
On November 1, National Brush Day, Tropicana will host a giveaway for its toothpaste on Instagram, encouraging users to engage with the brand. The trend of food and beverage companies venturing into the health and beauty sector is not new; for instance, in 2019, PepsiCo launched Mtn Dew Body Wash Blast, utilizing the soda’s fragrance. Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper have collaborated with Lip Smacker to integrate their flavors into lip balms, and Coca-Cola also teamed up with cosmetics brand Morphe last year to create a makeup line inspired by their soda colors. However, this may be the first instance of a CPG brand addressing the conflict between enjoying its product and maintaining oral hygiene.
Lastly, the iconic hip-hop group Beastie Boys is making a comeback, but this time with a beer. Source Brewing is re-releasing its Intergalactic Imperial IPA for a limited time. Initially launched in 2020, it quickly became one of the brewery’s most sought-after beers, selling out in mere minutes. The latest version will be available in a 4-pack across 27 states through the app-based bottle shop Tavour.
According to a press release, the beer draws inspiration from the iconic band, characterized as “rebellious, edgy, heady, and smooth,” featuring a “huge Galaxy dry-hop” that promises to elevate your senses. Intergalactic Imperial IPA boasts a 9% alcohol by volume and includes flavor notes of tangerine, apricot, candied orange, and melon. The brewers at Source often select their favorite artists to inspire their creations, blending music with craft beer in unique ways.
The Beastie Boys, known for their love of beer, even referenced it in their famous track “(You Gotta) Fight for the Right (to Party!).” The group burst onto the scene in 1986 with the album “Licensed to Ill,” featuring hits like “Brass Monkey” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” while “Intergalactic” appeared on their 1998 album “Hello Nasty.” New Jersey-based Source has previously paid homage to musical legends, releasing a Grateful Dead-inspired pale ale and a Beatles-themed imperial IPA.
The craft beer industry, once thriving with innovative and cleverly named products, has grown to over 8,700 brewers, marking an 82% increase since 2015. However, the pandemic significantly impacted craft breweries, with a production volume decline of 9.2% in contrast to the 2.9% drop in the beer industry overall. This new collaboration between the music world and craft brewing may provide a fresh spark to the industry.