FrozenFoodAge.com |

Food retailers can put some extra "jingle, jingle" in their cash registers this holiday season with additional freezer space devoted to upscale and natural desserts.

While retailers along the lines of Byerly's in Minneapolis and A. J.'s Fine Foods in Arizona would be the likely choice for desserts in the upper price points range, even mainstream supermarkets would be wise to add a few more premium brands and SKUs as shoppers will be prone to spending a few dollars more on indulgent desserts to compensate for the cutbacks in gift buying and other holiday extras this holiday season.

Jean-Yves Charon, co-founder and pastry chef, Galaxy Desserts, Richmond, Calif., says retailers can take advantage of two key trends with Galaxy's new Mousse Duos, which are available in four flavors: Raspberry Lemon, Double Chocolate, Cappuccino Chocolate, and Crème Caramel.

"Duos are inspired by while table cloth restaurant-type desserts and consumers concerned about portion control--especially with their desserts," explains Charon. "We present these bite size, mini-desserts in shot glasses, just as you would find in a fine restaurant.

"Each shot glass blends two dessert treats--like European custard and caramel sauce in our Crème Caramel Dessert Duo," he says. Duos are sold four to a package.

"Bite size desserts are one of the biggest trends in the food industry," says Charon, who recently traveled to Las Vegas with the head pastry chef for Daniel Bouland, owner of Daniel and other well known eateries, to sample the pasty fare at the new high-end restaurants there. Bouland has also staked out territory in Vegas, opening DB Brasserie at the Wynn.

"All of our products are made fresh with all natural ingredients and then frozen, so they never go stale like bakery products," says Charon.

Other products in the Galaxy line include mousse cakes, cheesecakes, tarts, crèmes and pastries. Suggested retail prices for Galaxy desserts range from $1.99 to $13.99.

Some of the items have garnered particular attention. Galaxy's Chocolate Truffle Marquise Cake won the Outstanding Dessert Award in 2003 from the National Association of Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), sponsors of the annual Fancy Food Show, and Galaxy products have been NASFT finalists on four other occasions.

Charon proudly points out "that we have been cited by Oprah Winfrey as her favorite dessert four times."

Galaxy's Chocolate Lava Cakes are big sellers. Each package features "two rich lava cakes with a molten fudge center." One of Galaxy's favorite dessert nods from Oprah went to its Molten Chocolate Lava Cake Batter, which she cited as one of "Oprah's Favorite Things."

Wholly Wholesome, Chester, N.J., recommends its line of natural and organic pie shells, ready-to-bake pies, and cheesecakes to retailers looking to get that extra boost at the holiday season.

"Our Organic Traditional 9" Pie Shells and Organic Whole Wheat 9" Pies Shells are the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling items in the SPINS frozen baked desserts category," says Kyra Greweling, vice president of sales and marketing.

"In addition to being all natural, they are also certified organic," says Greweling. "They are dairy-free, vegan and kosher." The shells are popular for pies, along with quiches and chicken pot pies, she says.

Also in the Wholly Wholesome pie shells and crust line are Organic Spelt 9" Pie Shells and two flavors of crusts--Graham Cracker Pie Crust and Chocolate Pie Crust. Each product in the line comes two to a package. Suggested retail prices are $2.99 for shells and $2.49 for crusts.

Wholly Wholesome's eight-inch ready to bake pies are available in five flavors: Apple, Blueberry, Cherry, Pumpkin, and Dairy-Free Pumpkin, which is made with soy-based ingredients in place of milk and eggs.

Doon Wintz, CEO, says Wholly Wholesome's cheesecakes and cheesecake bits are proving to be particular strong sellers. "Our six-inch New York Style Plain Cheesecake is made of Virginia spice cookie crumb crust with ginger and molasses, and with pure, natural cream cheese, sour cream made with vegetarian rennet, organic evaporated cane juice, and whole eggs," he says. The cheesecakes need only to thaw for 45 minutes prior to serving. SRP for a 21 oz. cheesecake is $9.89.

Cheesecake Bits are 2-inch wide New York-style cheesecakes with a Virginia spice cookie crust. An 18 oz. box of nine cheesecakes sells at a suggested price of $10.99.